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SHOUTING: 



GENUINE AND SPURIOUS, 



In all ages of tiie Church, from the birth of Creation, when 
the Sons of God shouted for joy, until the shout of the 
Arch- Angel : with numerous extracts from the Old 
and New Testament, and from the works of Wes- 
ley, Eyass, Edwards, Abbott, Cartwright and 
Finley. Giving a history of the outward 
demonstrations of the Spirit, such as 

Laughinj, Screaming, Shouting, Leaping", Jerking, and 
Falling under the Power, &c. 

With extensive comments, numerous anecdotes and illustrations. 

/ 

BY G. W, HENRY, 

AUTHOR OF " TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS, OR TRAVELS IX EGYPT, TWILIGHT AND BETXLAH,' 

" WEDLOCK AND PADLOCK, TEMPORAL AND SPIRITUAL," " CAMP MEETISTO 

HYMN BOOK," &C. 

WITH STEEL ENGRAVING OF AUTHOR AND SON. 



1 If these should hold their peace, the stones would cry out." 
Luke 19 : 40. 



PUBLISHED AND BOUND BY THE AUTHOR: 

ONEIDA, MADISON COUNTY, NEW-YORK. 
1859. 



I 






26556 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 

Gr. W. HENEY, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Northern District of 

New Torki 




BtEREotYPEt) k? 

tE&NOX & WHITE, 

ROC&EatKft^ .V. Y» 



PREFACE 



Our apology for writing this book is this : 

1. — We believe God has called us to the work. 
2. — We love to work for God in spreading Scriptural holiness 
through the land. 

3. — We desire to bless the world with spiritual bread, and at 
the same time procure for ourselves and family the bread of earth. 
We expect to give an account in the judgment for every word 
we have written. Our book is a child of prayer. Unceasingly 
have we prayed for the Spirit's direction ; the need of which we 
have felt especially, because our blindness compelled us to the un- 
natural method of writing through our son and daughter. 

! Lord, if the book please Thee, give it the wings of a carrier 
dove, and prepare its way to the firesides of thousands ; and may 
it win many souls to Christ after we are dead. Amen! 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I.~ INTRODUCTORY. 

House put in Order— Matrimonial Excursion— -Sons of God Shouting — Crossing 
the Threshold— Theme of the Book. 

CHAPTER TL— Our Platform. 
On a Search— Two Pillars — Croakers — Family Quarrel?— Cog and Magog, 

CHAPTER III —Platform Exemplified. 
Dr. Z. Paddock— Hopping— The Accuser— Crawling out of the Shell. 

• CHAPTER IV.— Tnrc Way Marked Out. 
God's order— No neutrality— Map of the route— Gloomy and Spiritual Religion. 

CHAPTER V.— Moses and bis Mother. 
Glory of Egypt— Ark of Rushes— Trust in Providence— Strong Cords— Discon- 
solate Mothers— Finley's Vision. 

CHAPTER VI.— The Plagues of Egypt. 
Rip Van Winkle nap— Unusual employment — Moses' Commission — the PI agues 
— Too much Noise— Funeral scene— Universalist — Come out — West India 
Emancipation— Spiritual Freedom. 

CHAPTER VII.— Israel's First Trial. 
A Critical Position— Providence and Grace— At Migdol— Fugitive Slave Law. 

CHAPTER VIII.— Crossing the Red Sea. 
Young Converts— Morning of Joy— Shaft of Fire— Safe Sleeping— Sea Divided. 

CHAPTER IX. — Passage of the Reb Sea Celebrated. 
Triumphant Songs— Holy Danciug. 

CHAPTER X.— Spurious Shouting. 
The Camp at Sinai — Moses on the Mount— Israel Backslides— Golden Calf De- 
stroyed— First Mourner's Bench— Breaking the Tables— Dancing. 

CHAPTER XL— Grapes and Pomegranates. 
Moses'' Anger Justified— Dedication of the Tabernacle— Majority and Minor! 
ty Report— Experienced Pilots 

CHAPTER XII.— The Smitten Rock. 
Going Ahead»Trial of Faith-A Revival-Water from the Rock-Noisy Revivals. 

CHAPTER XI1L— License to Shout. 
Rumseller'3 License— Slaveholder's License— Christian's License to Shout- 
When to shout— A Victory— Moses 1 Funeral. 



Contents. 



CHAPTER XXXI.— Views of John Wesley. 
TlieOld Tree— Tree of Life— Dangerous Hock— The Model Eevival— Wesley not 
Deified— Misrepresented— Change of Views. 

CHAPTER XXXII.— Fetter-Lane Confession. 
Extract — Prayer for Pharisees — Vain Hopes— Standing on the Threshold — Con- 
troversy with a D. D.— Blasphemy — The Call. 

CHAPTER XXX II I. —Wesley's Views Continued. 
Quotation— Horrible Outcries— Quotation— A Calm — The Greater Danger-Coun- 
terfeits—Quotation—Let Uzzah Beware. 

CHAPTER XXXIV— Wesley's Views Continued. 
Extract — Wonderful Scene— Anotner Sight— Laughing Blessing — Experience. 

CHAPTER XXXV.— Wesley's Views Continued. 
P. 45 and 46, vol. 5— Wesley's Morality — Religion, so-called — As God pleases, a 
Storm or Calm — Our "Warning — Vol. 7, p. 502. 

CHAPTER XXXVI. — Misrepresentations of Wesley. 

CHAPTER XXXVII.— Welsh Jumping. 
Christmas Evans— "Welsh Jumping— Comments by Author. 

CHAPTER XXXVIIL— Views of Jonathan Edwards. 
Edwards an Endorser— Extracts and Comments. 

CHAPTER XXXIX.— Views of Edwards Continued. .:i. 
Extracts and Comments. 

CHAPTER XL. — Views of Edwards Continued. 
A word for Croakers— Light without Heat— Extracts and Comments, 

CHAPTER XLL— Benjamin Abbott. 
Abbott's Conviction — His Conversion — His Sanctification — Our Sanctification. 

CHAPTER XLIL— Second Blessing. 
Two Blind Men— Wesley's Views— Can't Keep Still— Three Gates— Old Piano- 
Perfection. 

CHAPTER XLIIL— Benjamin Abbott. 
Life of Abbott. 

CHAPTER XLIV.— Peter Cartwright. 
Extract on Jerking — Dissatisfaction — New Church — The Jerks — Horse-whip- 
ping — Blaspheming — Divine Agency — Slaying Power — Divine Power. 

CHAPTER XL V.— J. B. Finley. 
Sixty years ago — Wedding— Wedlock and Padlock — Backwoods Camp Meeting. 

CHAPTER XLVL— J. B. Finley. 
Universalist— Starch taken out— A Pentecost— A Jonah — Fall and Recovery. 

CHAPTER XLVIL— J. B. Finley. 
A Camp Meeting — Peculiarities of tlie Work — Interesting Incidents — The Child 
Preacher— Sinners Stricken Down — Results of the Work — Blundering Tac- 
tics— Cattaraugus Meeting— Colonization. 

CHAPTER XLVIIL— The Use of Shouting. 
What's the use ? — A Stratagem— Old Moses. 

CHAPTER XLIX.— Third Church, Syracuse. 
A small Swarm — Peculiarities — Persecution — Endorsed by Bishops — Disturbed 
People — Htaling Faith — Powerin the Pulpit. 

CHAPTER L.— Last Revival. 
Retrospect— Noisiest of all— Difference— To Fault-finders— Behold he cometh. 



iv Contents. 

CHAPTEK XIV.— Crossing Jordan. 
A hard road to travel— Christian's Trumph — Honors from God — Mountain of 
Water— The " Second Blessing"— Loss of an Army. 

CHAPTER XV.— Fall of Jericho. 
Ram's Horns— Marching around the Walls— Rahab Saved— Effective Shouting 
— The Number Seven — Seventh Trumpet. 

CHAPTER XVI.— From Jericho to Jerusalem. 
Saints below and above — Swallow Holes — Corn and Wine — A Shameful Defeat 
Church Trials — Mouldy Bread— At Jerusalem. 

CHAPTER XVII.— A Celebration and a Dinner. 

Ark Coming Back — Why the Glory Departed — Head Religion — Ark on a Cart — 

Rev. Mr. Uzzah— Music — Curtain Lectures — Bell for Dinner — Widow's Crust. 

CH APTER XVIIL— Rebuilding the Temple. 
A Rip Van Winkle Nap— Things Change — Shouting and Weeping — Bro. P's Re- 
marks — •'Ichabod" — Triumph of the Wicked. 

CHAPTER XIX— Advent of Christ. 
Backward and Forward — Waiting — Celestial Choir — Rapture of Simeon — Hea- 
venly Joseph — Living Redeemer— Watchword. 

CHAPTER XX.— Christ Entering upon nis Ministry.- 
Wading — The Waters Deepening — Search for Jesus — John the Baptist — Behold 
the Lamb — First Appointment — Ten Lepers — Blind Bartimeus. 

CHAPTER XXL— Feeding the Ten Thousand. 
Lepers Noisy — Bartimeus Noisy — Out-door Meeting — Saving Power — Multitude 
Fed — Christ King — Marvelous Loaf. 

CHAPTER XXII.— Christ on toe Stormy Sha. 
A Stormy Night— Jesus on the Water — Peter's Request —Sinking and Rising- 
Faith Stronger — A Question — Peace like a River — Benefit of Agitation. 

CHAPTER XXIIL— Christ Raising the Dead. 
Poor Shoemaker — The Widow's Trust — Widow's Hope — Funeral Procession — 
Widow's Son Raised — Family of Bethany— Death of Lazarus — " Come Forth" 
—Second Blessing — Peculiar Exercises. 

. CHAPTER XXIV.— The Prodigal's Return. 
Hilly Country — Another Pisgah — Feeding Swine— Prodigal Coming— Christian's 
Telegraph — Banquet — Amazement — Second Course — Music — Elder Brother. 

CHAPTER XXV. — Christ's Grand Entry into Jerusalem. 
The Last Appointment— Fat Calves — Better Times-Morning News-Jesus Moun- 
ted — Procession Moves — Decision of Supreme Judge — Arrival of the Train. 

CHAPTER XXVL— Christ Cleansing the Temple. 
Committees Report— Cleansing Process— S. S. Celebration— Another Commit- 
tee—Feed the Lambs. 

CHAPTER XXVII. — The Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension. 
Extravagance — More Resolutions — Savior Tried — Another kind of Shouting — 
Soldiers at the Tomb— Tidings of Joy— Ascension. 

CHAPTER XXVIII —Day of Pentecost. 
Orderly Prayer Meeting — Fire, Fire — Working Converts — Divine Revival — 
Preaching "in Charge— Effects— Spiritual Temple. 

CHAPTER, XXIX.— Young Converts 
Exhortation — Relates his Experience -Power of Salvation— Overdoing the 
Thing— Paul's Experience. 

CHAPTER XXX.— The Wine of the Kingdom. 
We be Brethren— Effects of Drinking— As thou wilt— Critical Spot— Chapter on 
Wine— Life of the Author— Good morning, Brother Pilgrim. 



CHAPTER FIRST. 



tokrforg. 



The last book we gave to the wide, wide world, to 
read and think about, was entitled " Marriage of the 
Lamb, or Wedlock and Padlock, Temporal and Spir- 
itual." The idea of wedlock, is the union of man and 
woman id. conjugal love ; which is an emblem of the 
union of the sanctified soul with Christ in Divine love, 
TLe idea of padlock, is a union without love either in 
the temporal or spiritual. The design of the book 
was to contrast true religion with false, the foolish vir- 
gins with the wise, a dead formality with the living 
power ; and in the execution of this design a book was 
born containing four hundred and sixty large duodec- 
imo pages. 

One fourth of the book was taken up in settino* 
forth the birth of the new world, and the six days 
work laid out upon it by the King, in preparing it for 



8 House put in Oedek. 

the residence of his Son, whom he was about to givo 
in marriage to the " elect lady," of whom the Apos- 
tle John speaks. The first two or three days were oc- 
cupied in bringing order out of chaos, in raising the 
little hills and piercing the sky with the lofty Chim- 
borazos, in scooping out a place for the restless sea, 
and in furnishing the Bridegroom's palace and its ad- 
jacent grounds with beautiful adornments, and every- 
thing necessary to meet the wants of the intended 
occupants. The palace was beautified with its carpet 
of green ; and close at hand the garden of the Lord 
was prepared, with its lovely walks and fleecy mounds, 
bestudded and selvedged with unfading flowers of won- 
drous beauty, which fill the air with their fragrance ; 
at a little distance, on an elevated spot, appear vine- 
yards and orchards, every vine and branch bending 
with beautiful a&ai delicious fruit ; and farther off are 
seen the lofty pines and goodly cedars which raise 
their heads in silent grandeur from the summits of 
Lebanon. 

The house and grounds in order, they were soon il- 
luminated by a mighty chandelier, suspended from 
the arched dome of heaven by an invisible chain, and 
by innumerable sida-lights and reflectors, which look 
like angels' eyes peering down on sublunary affairs. 
Then the banquet was prepared for the nuptial festiv- 



Matrimonial Excursions. 9 

ities soon to take place. We look from our elevated 
stand point, which commands a view of the whole 
plantation, and the sea which yesterday was quiet as 
a May morning, is now like a country school in the 
absence of the master. From the little red herring 
to the enormous leviathan, all are starting off on a 
matrimonial excursion, male and female. We look 
again, and this time we use our ears too, and behold 
another excursion party, which has chosen the air for 
its element. All, balloon-like, are inflated with hyme- 
nial raptures. These are intended partly for the choir 
and partly for pot-pies. In the wisdom of the Crea- 
tor all are coupled, male and female. And no two 
are alike. There is an endless variety of costume; 
and their songs are as various as they are harmonious 
and sweet. We call them the choir, but it is not 
meant that the} 7 are a select choir. The King provi- 
ded for congregational singing. lie had no occasion 
to offer them a salary for doing what they loved so 
well. It was their chief joy to employ the powers 
bestowed upon them. So happy were they that they 
could not help singing. And so well did they per- 
form their various parts, that there was not the slight- 
est discord in their grand epithalamium. 

And now appears the animal creation. All are in- 
tended for the household of the Son, from the creep- 



10 Sons or God Shouting. 

ing thing to the roaring lion and monstrous elephant. 
And now the sixth day's morning dawns. It is to be 
a coronation day. A lord and sovereign of all the 
lower orders of created existence is to be made. A 
triune council has been held. The Eternal Three had 
said, " Let us make man in our image, after our like- 
ness." The decree of the council was executed, and 
man, the last and noblest work of God, appears bear- 
ing the image of the heavenly, and crowned with glo- 
ry, honor and immortality. And now he is put in 
possession of his dominion. Every thing that has 
breath passes before him, and receives from him a 
name ; and as the vast caravan passes along, all do 
obeisance to him, and give utterance to joyful praises 
to Him who made him their ruler. 

Think you not, dear reader, that the retrospective 
ear and eye of the patriarch of Uz were charmed with 
the scenes he describes when he speaks of singing stars, 
and the shouting of the sons of God at the laying of 
the foundations of earth? Previous to the birth of 
the great Napoleon's son, heavy cannon were placed 
within short distances of one another, throughout the 
empire ; and when it was announced to the happy 
father that a son was given, he placed the match to 
the first cannon, and in a moment all France resound- 
ed with the cannon's thunder, and the prolonged 



Crossing the Thueshhold. 11 

shouts of a joyful populace. A similar scene, ex- 
cept the fire and smoke, transpired at the birth of cre- 
ation. All heaven joined in the noisy triumph. 

Here is the first recorded instance of singing and 
shouting ; but, glory be to God, not the last that earth 
has known. 

Gome now, dear reader, and see in yonder wood- 
land a lovely cottage, filled with peace and plenty. 
See the smoke from its chimney gracefully curling and 
ascending through the green foliage, like incense from 
the golden censer. You wait at the door listening to 
the rumbling tread of the porter in response to your 
rap. He springs the bolt, bids you enter, gives you 
a hearty welcome, and you find yourself seated cosi- 
ly and securely in the old arm chair, and surrounded 
with a circle of warm and respected friends. We 
wish, in this first chapter, to lead you across the thresh- 
old of our subject, and introduce you to the inmates 
of our dwelling. And now that you are within our 
walls, we will treat you to tire best we have, and make 
you more than welcome. 

The dish with which wo will serve you will be, 
Shouting, or Christian Triumph and Rejoicing, both 
cause and effect. 

In our book entitled " Marriage of the Lamb," we 
had only room to talk about building the palace, and 



12 Crossing the Threshhold. 

furnishing it, and its surroundings, preparatory to the 
marriage ceremony, and the flirtings, hesitations, pal- 
pitations, wooings and espousals of the elect lady, be- 
fore she was willing to " mitten" her old lovers, and 
to forsake all for the King's Son, to be his forever. 
We have had a pleasant time while attending the long 
list of weddings, from that of Adam and Eve in the 
bowers of Eden, to that of Cana of Galilee, which 
Jesus attended, including that of Abraham and Sarah, 
Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel ; and finally 
reached the time alluded to by John in Revelation. 
He heard a voice from the throne commanding all, 
small and great, to shout God's praise. All heaven 
heard and obeyed the Divine mandate. The celestial 
courts reverberated with praises, like the voice of ten 
thousand Niagaras, saying, " Alleluia, let us be glad 
and rejoice." 

But a Pharisee inquires, "What is going on here ? 
What is the meaning of this tremenduous noise ? It 
is enough to deafen a body. The happy saints reply, 
" The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife 
hath m-ade herself ready ;" and an angel now steps 
forward and cries out at the top of his voice, " Bless- 
ed are they which are called to the marriage supper 
of the Lamb." 

In this Scripture, reader, you will find the theme 



Theme op the Book. 13 

of this little book. In the previous volume we were 
occupied with the preparation and the wedding; -in 
this we are to speak of the victories and rejoicings 
of the Lamb's wife; and in another volume still, if 
Providence permits us to write it, we will show how 
the Father would have this Son's wife attired. 



CHAPTER SECOND. 



©wr platform. 



A few years ago our American periodicals were 
burdened with the story of Japhet in search of his 
father; but we are going out in search of the agoni- 
zing groans, the hearty aniens, the loud hallelujahs, 
that routed the moles and bats from the crevices of 
log-cabins, and from the more comfortable no-steepled, 
and freepewed churches of former times. Where 
are these three friends now? Who has abducted 
them? The Pharisees have taken them off to a se- 
cret burial, and we know not where they have laid 
them. But we are in search of them, and shall do 
what we can to raise them to new life, and to rein- 
state them in our sanctuaries. 

We are now to introduce you, dear reader, to the 
subject of shouting, and other external spiritual man- 
ifestations. And now let us take each a pilgrim's 



On a Search. — Two Pillars. 15 

staff in hand, and travel through the sacred record, 
from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revela- 
tion, and see what we can find appropriate to our par- 
pose. David accumulated the materials for Solomon 
to build the temple, and the prophets and apostles 
shall furnish us with the goodly stones and cedars, to 
construct this little literary edifice. We will build on 
the stable foundation — the written word. Standing 
here, we defy the world. If God be for us who can 
be against us. 

There are two pillars in the Christian temple which 
have always annoyed the Devil, the Bible and Chris- 
tian experience ; and as it is our business to disturb 
the old adversary as much as possible, we shall, while 
constantly referring to the law and the testimony 
throw in, as occasiou requires, a little of what we have 
seen and felt. It was a prominent characteristic of 
Methodists in olden times to relate their experience, 
and we are strongly inclined to seek the old paths and 
walk therein. When everything in the shape of the- 
ology fails, it is often the case that the simple relation 
of what the soul knows and enjoys will kindle the fire, 
which, like electricity, will leap from heart to heart, 
until the great congregation will be dazzled by its 
light and melted with its heat ; and if all are not fet- 
tered with a slavish fear of men, there will be a shout, 



16 Croakers. 

and perhaps a loud shout. The witness, as said Jesus 
to Nicodemus, speaks what he has seen and felt. His 
soul is all a-glow with feeling; and it is no wonder 
that words impelled by strong desire and burning love, 
go like grape shot to the hearts that listen. 

We have often been amused while attending camp- 
meetings and other large convocations, to iind there 
the regular descendants of Nicodemus, like Saul, head 
and shoulders above the brethren, in their own con- 
ceit, ilow earnestly they endeavor to persuade some 
of the brethren that their religion is all imaginary. 
Hie brother or sister may say, with tearful eyes, that 
they love Jesus, that Jesus smiles and loves them too, 
that he cleanses them from all sin, and tills them with 
joy unspeakable, but these self-constituted censors 
wonderingly inquire, " Ilow can these things be," and 
croak back their response, — "enthusiasm," "delusion.' 
Blind leaders are these, who lead only into the ditch of 
moral impurity and death. 

But suppose it true as these persons, ignorant them- 
selves of the joys of God's salvation, seem to teach, 
that we cannot certainly know whether we are the 
sons of God or not ; or what is the same, that we can- 
not tell the difference between the service of Satan 
and the service of Jesus, between life and death, be- 
tween darkness and light ; we may get some consola- 



Family Quakrel. 17 

tion even from that supposition. In that case, so ig- 
norant are we, God will throw us in with infants and 
idiots, who know not their right hand from their left, 
so that we are bound to heaven on the babies' or fools' 
boat if no other. 

The subject of shouting has not been a matter of 
controversy between the Church and world only, but 
has got to be a kind of family quarrel. This contro- 
versy makes sad inroads upon the piety and efficiency 
of the Church. The day when all secrets are to be 
Pinfolded will show that it has done quite as much to 
recruit the vast army of backsliders, and to un-nerve 
and weaken the church, as any one of Satan's opera- 
tions. And it seems to be waxing worse and worse 
every year in the Methodist Church. In almost eve- 
ry periodical we find this bone of contention. We 
see a writer, professing the faith of Christ, claiming 
to be on the same war-ship with the brethren they 
persecute, and to be led by the same captain, placing 
his big brogans on all spiritual demonstrations, espe- 
cially if they do not agree in weight and measure 
with his balances and half bushel. The brother step- 
ped on so heavily is grieved of course, and thinks it 
duty to defend practices he loves. Accordingly he 
calls on the prophets and apostles to endorse him. 
They back his paper without hesitation. And now he 



18 Stead ying the Akk. 

thinks his foes vanquished. He thinks his paper ought 
to pass, with holy men of old who spake as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost, as his endorsers. But pa- 
per thus backed will not be accepted by the children 
of the Pharisee ; and next week out conies another 
old grey goose quill and tries to capsize the whole 
concern. Many of the readers are befogged at once. 
Timid as fawns, which start at the rustling of a leaf, 
they know not which way to turn to escape their be- 
wilderment. As Peter, while looking at the roaring 
wave, listening to the terrific thunder, and enveloped 
in darkness made more dense, by the occasional light- 
ning's flash, they are in trouble up to their chin, and 
perhaps sink to rise no more. 

Alas ! how many do we hear confessing witli tear- 
ful eyes and achiDg hearts, that they have lost the fa- 
vor of God, by trying to please our modern Uzzahs, 
who are always for steadying the ark. Thousands 
have shrunk from a full consecration, for similar rea- 
sons. As the last cord that binds them to earth is 
about to be severed, they hear a whisper that causes 
them to hesitate to cut it. What will be the conse- 
quences of an unreserved consecration to God, of soul, 
body and spirit ? ls r ew duties to perform, and morti- 
fying crosses to be borne. They shrink from these 
things. The reproach of loud shouting and falling 



Gog and Magog. 19 

under the Spirit's power is more than they can endure, 
They cannot sell all they have to buy the pearl of 
great price. They dare not sign the contract. And 
all the way down to the damp, dark grave, they carry 
sad hearts and wear gloomy faces. 

If a stranger had overheard the Saviour, as ho 
taught his disciples on the green hills and mountain 
summits of Palestine, saying to them that he must 
go up to Jerusalem, and suffer many things at the 
hands of Scribes, and Elders, and Pharisees, lie would, 
have inquired with astonishment, what! go up to Je- 
rusalem to suffer? one would have supposed it the 
haven of grace. And well may strangers in this the 
nineteenth century, be astonished at the fact thatspir- 
itual christians must go up to Jerusalem to suffer the 
persecutions of Pharisees. Fires are kindled and 
crosses are erected by backslidden class-leaders, by 
proud Pharisees in pulpit and in pew. Often have 
God's faithful been heard to pray, to agonize in prayer, 
that they might be able to endure the flames — to bear 
with fortitude the pains of crucifixion. Gog and Ma- 
gog — a man-fearing and man-pleasing spirit, are the 
causes of much of this evil. It is this popular devil 
that is now dragging more souls to hell than any of 
his co-ad ju tors. 

O ! thou traveler on the boisterous waves of Gene- 



20 Gog and Magog. 

saretluthat entered the land of the Gcrgesenes, meas- 
uring swords with legions of devils, and giving them 
a iv^Q passage to the depths of the sea in a herd of 
swine — if thine ear has not grown heavy, and thine 
arm shortened, cast this Pharisaic Devil out of thy 
Ziun, and kennel liini eternally in his native hell. — 
Amen ! 



CHAPTER THIED. 



glatfflrnt (gjcemjIM 



We do not intend, dear reader, to condemn persons 
for their silence, nor to commend any merely for their 
loud shouting. We are not called by the Holy Ghost 
to any such work. It is our design, as heretofore sta- 
ted, to inquire what is the will of our heavenly Fa- 
ther in reference to this matter. The Apostle Paul 
has ever been whispering in our car, do you seek to 
please God or man? and we remember that Jesus 
says, " How can ye believe, which receive honor oue 
of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from 
God only." We desire to please God, and to obtain 
the honor which he confers, and therefore intend to 
subject ourselves to the Spirit's dictation ; and wo 
hope to induce others to follow our example. 

But before we advance farther, that you may bet- 



22 Dr. Z. Paddock. 

ter understand our platform, and that we pass good 
liaturedly along, and have a pleasant time while ex- 
ploring our subject, permit us to relate, by way of 
illustration, an aiFair of recent date in which the au- 
thor bore a conspicuous part. It occurred during a 
camp-meeting we attended, of which Dr. Z. Paddock 
had the management. The names of Benjamin and 
Zechariah Paddock have always been music in our 
ears. When we weie a flaxen-haired boy, a wild 
ycuth, these brothers and ministers of Jesus, as they 
went forth to sow in Litchfield Circuit, Herkimer Co., 
N. Y., scattered some good seed in the youthful fur- 
rows of our heart. Their songs, and prayers, and 
preaching, watered by their tears, were not lost by the 
way side, although the tender blade did not appear 
for more than a quarter of a century. 

At this meeting, which occurred during the sum- 
mer of 1S5T, there was a a love feast called, where 
thousands sat in open court, waiting to throw in their 
testimony for Jesus, In front of the stand were sit- 
ting with us a row of brethren, among whom were 
the Doctor and Bro. Gorham. And here let me say, 
that Bro. Gorham was also one that held a high seat 
in our affections ; from whose sanctified lips we heard 
the sacred doctrine of perfect love ; from whom we 
received, as the instrument of God's grace, the white 



Hopping. 23 

stone with a new name engraved npon it; and who 
conducted us into the land of Beulah, where we have 
lived ever since, by the grace of God, in its waving 
cornfields and fruitful vineyards. 

When our turn came to bear witness to the joys of 
salvation, we arose with a cup brim-full, and as we 
gave utterance to our feelings, the Angel of the Cov- 
enant plunged into the pool and so agitated the wa- 
ters that every nerve of our body vibrated like a Jew's 
harp ; and as has often been the case on like occasions, 
before and sinc"e, we were raised on tip-toe and began 
to hop, unable to control our motions, though perfect* 
ly conscious of our condition; and while trying to 
get back to our seat, hopped on the toes of the Doc- 
tor and other brethren, and finally fell back in their 
laps. This made no small stir in the camp. Some 
shouted, others wondered, and said they had never 
seen it after that fashion before. But the love feast 
went on until it blazed like the burning bush. 

Just at this point another old acquaintance found 
his way to our side ; one who is faithful in attendance 
at all the means of grace, rain or shine, in whose em- 
ploy we served for many years for miserable wages* 
He is called the Accuser of the brethren. Of course 
he came with a message. He at once whispered in 
our ear that we had offended our dearest friends by 



24: The Accuser. — Crawling out the Shell. 

our ridiculous performances. Dr. Paddock, says he, 
is never known to shout aloud, and is never the sub- 
ject of such peculiar exercises, and there are none of 
his numerous friends but will say he knows more of 
the heights and depths of salvation, than a poor blind 
man just blasted out of the mountain ; besides, he has 
eulogized your books more than any other man, and 
has given them wings to fly to firesides where they 
would not otherwise have reached, and now you have 
lost his friendship by disgracing the meeting. It may 
be tolerated, says he, by Gorham, for he sometimes 
shouts himself, but you have disgraced yourself in the 
eyes of the Doctor. By this time we had hauled in 
our horns, and shrunk back in our shell like a snail. 
We would willingly have been trampled upon by the 
meanest mortal on earth. We were in the predica- 
ment of Bunyan's pilgrim, when Apolyon had knock- 
ed his sworcl out of his hand, wounded him in the 
head, and laid him on his back. But he was one of 
God's invincibles, and at the critical moment shouted, 
" O mine enemy, rejoice not against me, when I fall 
I shall rise;" in a breath he was on his feet again, 
brandished his Jerusalem blade, and Apolyon cleared 
the track, and Christian went on his way rejoicing. 
Soon we began to crawl out of our shell again, and 
determined to know whether the Aecuser had told the 



A Contract. 25 

truth or not ; for sometimes lie tells the truth when it 
will serve his evil purpose ; but then he mixes truth 
and falsehood j ust as cotton and wool are mixed in 
pure woolen goods, so that it is sometimes difficult for 
the keenest eyed saint to separate the true from the 
false. According to our determination we told the 
Doctor all that he had told us. Now the Doctor is 
one of the German flutes of the Lord's band, and the 
furrows of his cheeks are always orerflowing with 
tears of Christian love. " Well," says he, " that is all 
a lie ; I was greatly blessed ; and was exceedingly 
tried with myself because I have no such ecstacies ; 
and now Bro. Henry I want to make a contract with 
you,— if you will never be tried with me for my still- 
ness, I never will be tried with your shouting, hopping 
and falling." >Ah! how delightful to our troubled 
spirit were the rich, silvery tones of his voice. The 
contract was signed and sealed with hearty amens in 
the presence of angels and God. 

Now, reader, you may fish something out of this 
story that will be for your advantage. You have a 
specimen of the manner in which the Devil is opera- 
ting throughout our Zion. lie disturbs one brother 
or sister because they are never the subjects of extra- 
ordinary demonstrations of the Spirit ; and at the same 
time tells the noisy ones that they had better stop 



26 Cloven Foot. 

their months and hide their heads. He sits in his 
great iron chair, and laughs out of both corners of 
his mouth, to think that he has so adroitly killed two 
birds with one stone. 

Can you tell, reader, why the Devil is said to have 
one cloven foot ? If yon do not know, we can tell 
you. It is because he creates all the divisions among 
brethren. If he can only crowd this foot into the 
Church, into families, into neighborhoods, where the 
Prince of Peace reigns, and all hearts are bound to- 
gether like Joseph's sheaf, in unfeigned love, and then 
sow a few seeds of discord, and curdle the sweet milk 
of fraternal love into bitterness and strife, he has gain- 
ed a great victory; for " by whom a man is overcome, 
by the same he is brought into bondage." Some one 
has said that Satan w T as like a sun-fish. He would 
shrink himself to the thickness of a shingle, and slip 
so smoothly between two brethren, that they would 
scarcely perceive him ; then he would spread out his 
sharp horny fins until he had fixed a gulf between 
them as impassable as that between Dives and Laza- 
rus. Alas ! how frequently have the peculiar exer- 
cises of which many are the subjects, been made th© 
entering wedge of endless heart burnings and strife. 

Not a thousand years ago, two sisters, who for 
years had walked together in Christian love, without 



Slaying Power. 27 

a single discord to mar the harmony of tlieir fellow- 
ship, were entirely alienated from one another. While 
on a visit to a neighboring society, one was awakened 
to the subject of holiness, sought and obtained it, and 
like Noah's dove, having found rest on the Ararat of 
perfect love, returned to her home with the green ol- 
ive leaf in her mouth. She began to wave it as a 
token of victory. She exhorted others to come up to 
a higher standard. And as she testified of Jesus' sa- 
ving power, the tire fell, and as John fell as one dead 
at a glimpse of Jesus, on the Isle of Patmos, she fell, 
though she had always been numbered among the 
orderly, and measured her full length on the floor ; 
and as the giant oak, uprooted by the mighty storm 
king, bears down many smaller trees in its fall, this 
sister, overthrown by a mighty spiritual gale, in her 
fall broke the bones of the new bonnet of her hith- 
erto loving friend, demolished her fair fabric of arti- 
ficials, and carried all, and the poor sister's superficial 
religion in the bargain, down into the dust. This of 
course raised the devil. Faithful testimony, holy liv- 
ing, and slaying power always set him to roaring. 
Think not, says the Author of holiness, "that I am 
come to send peace on the earth ; I come not to send 
peace, but a sword." "Wherever the Apostles went 
and preached, and they preached holiness, his Satanic 



28 Slaying Tower. 

majesty was aroused ; divisions were made in the 
Church; multitudes met to discuss the strange doc- 
trine, and Pharisees took counsel together for the pur- 
pose of extinguishing the fire ; and they even went 
so far as to put holiness to jail. 

But let us jog back to the old church. The congre- 
gation is dismissed. The sexton turns the key at a 
late hour, saying as he goes, this woman is a setter 
forth of strange doctrines ; our old church has never 
witnessed such scenes before. The two sisters have 
separated, one going from the summit of Mount Ta- 
bor, with the wine of the kingdom sticking to her lips, 
the other from the valley of Limbo, with a dark cloud 
upon her brow, and a heavy weight upon her heart. 
As she presses out the bruises from her new bonnet, 

and readjusts her artificials, she says, "if such per- 
formances are the fruit of holiness, may heaven de- 
liver me from it." And now Satan whispers, through 
the lips of a member of the Church of Sard is, " this 
is ail wild fire." " Yes," says the sister, "I am con- 
vinced of it. She may be a Christian; I shall not 
judge her; but hereafter she can have my seat to oc- 
cupy as well as her own." On the next Sabbath she 
betakes herself to the Church of Sardis, where min- 
ister and people are so destitute of life and power as 
to be unable to raise a quarrel even with the world. 



Slaying Power. 29 

The newly baptized sister now receives a gracious 
visit from her Leader and Pastor, both heavily bur- 
dened with a message. They proceed in the most ap- 
proved manner. Their approaches are as regularly 
and carefully planned as in the siege of a towering 
fortress. They employ any number of friction wheels, 
well fitted for service by a plentiful supply of soft 
soap. But finally the germ of the matter is reached. 
The good sister is informed that her exercises are re- 
garded disreputable, and that if persisted in the result 
would be, To Let would be written on many pew 
doors. But how does she endure this fiery trial, this 
crucifixion at the hands of Pharisees and Elders? 
Alas! she yields to temptation. She witholds her 
testimony. Iler sun goes down under a cloud, and 
the light that was in her becomes gross darkness. 
And now the sisters are forever separated, and without 
a miracle of grace will sink forever. 

The devil that so carefully guarded the pew doors, 
is cousin-german to the one that proposed to kill Laz- 
arus, whom Jesus raised from the dead ; for says he, 
if Lazarus be permitted to go about preaching Christ's 
power over death, the Elder's salary will be dimin- 
ished, the Church will be broken up, and our nation 
lost. 

Here you see the effects of Satan's cloven foot. 



30 Slaying Power. 

You see too, how artfully he makes good an instru- 
ment of evil. The testimony of the Savior's power 
to cleanse from all unrighteousness, is used as a means 
to distract and divide. A sister falls under God's 
power, and this is made the occasion of a great out- 
cry. Did ever a devil do a darker deed ? The Holy 
Ghost beareth us witness that we had rather meet 
death on a horse stolen from a neighbor's pasture, and 
run our risk of heaven, than to be found fighting 
against these manifestations of the power of God. In 
one case we rob a man of his horse, in the other we 
rob God of his glory. It was the business of Phari- 
sees in Christ's day to rob him of glory, and their pos- 
terity are pursuing the same calling. It is our ear- 
nest prayer that the Church may yet have power to 
cast out these unclean spirits. 



CHAPTER FOURTH. 



% mm giwiu& ©at 



Patient reader, in the foregoing chapter we have 
presented yon with a few of our views on the subject 
we have by the hand ; and at the same time have 
endeavored to strip modern fashionable devils of 
their fig-leaf coverings, and exhibit them in their na- 
tive ugliness. We are assured that you have only to 
see Satan as he is, to abhor him. By the grace of 
God, all our ransomed powers are pledged, and shall 
be devoted to expose his arts and undermine his poW' 
er. ~No compromise with Satan, but eternal, exter- 
minating war against him. 

The question to be determined is whether shouting 
and other peculiar exercises are allowable or not, and 
whether under certain circumstances they are not 
positive duties ? We maintain the affirmative of both 
these questions ; not, however, without qualification 



32 God's Okdee. — No Neutrality. 

as to time and circumstances. God is a God of order. 
And now we propose to search diligently to ascer- 
tain what is the order of God in reference to spiritual 
manifestations. Let God be true if every croaker's 
mouth be stopped. The apostle prays that the Gos- 
pel may have free course, run and be glorified ; as 
much as to say, clear the track Pharisees, and velvet- 
eared professors, whose nerves are so easily excited 
by the whistle of the old Gospel engine, and the 
shouts and songs of the emigrants, as they thunder 
through vanity fair and across the enchanted ground 
to the celestial city. This interpretation of the apos- 
tle's words may be doubted by some, but we hope to 
establish its correctness before we get through. 

And now, dear reader, let us lock arms and take a 
walk down into Egypt. Perhaps we have not here- 
tofore seen eye to eye, but we have had no quarrel 
thus far. If you are not in favor of noisy demonstra 
tions and slaying power, under any circumstances, it 
is plain we differ ; but we can go pleasantly along 
notwithstanding our differences. One or the other of 
us is in error. Christ knows nothing about neutral 
territory. There is no sitting on the fence between 
Christ and Belial. But while we are discussing our 
differences we will try and keep on good terms. 

And now that we have arrived in Egypt, before we 



Map of the Route. 33 

start upon onr journey in search of the strong proofs 
of our position, we will map out the route that we are 
to take. We will follow Moses and the .sacramental 
host out of the land of bondage, through the Bed 
Sea, passipg the smitten rock by the way, and onward 
towards Jordan, where Joshua takes command of the 
host ; we will then cross Jordan with Joshua, and go 
with him to Jericho whose walls will be demolished, 
and study astronomy awhile at Gibeon and in the 
plain of Ajalon where the sun and moon stood still 
until victory perched upon Israel's banners ; we will 
then pass on to Jerusalem and dine with King Solo- 
mon in his palace of matchless splendor, and worship 
awhile with him in the magnificent temple he erected 
to God ; and then pass on through rivers of sacrificial 
blood and the smoke of Jewish altars, until we cross 
the threshhold of the Gospel dispensation, and see 
face to face the Divine person of whom Moses and 
the prophets wrote. If we find anything in the pre- 
cepts and practices of holy men of old that modern 
men call wild-lire, we will refer the matter to Jesus 
and let him settle the controversy. We will deter- 
mine, if possible, whether he approves or disapproves, 
endorses or lepudiates, and his word shall be the end 
of the argument. And if it should be seen that some 
supposed friends of order, are, after all, only modern 



34 Map of the Route. 

Uzzahs, endeavoring to steady the ark, afraid that 
God's omnipotence cannot keep it from tumbling off 
the cart, as Dagon of the Philistines from his high 
pedestal, let them heartily repent, and thank God 
that they are not struck dead on the threshing floors 
of our Jerusalerns. We mean to abide by the writ- 
ten word. This is solid rock. Standing in a cleft of 
the rock, as Moses when he beheld the skirtings of the 
Lord, we mean to pursue and complete the little work 
in which we are engaged. 

But we must hasten on. The train is about to 
move. We will just step in the office and get a 
ticket, and a check for our baggage. It is now the 
day of Pentecost, and the cars are for the first time to 
take the new line, running from the Old to the New 
Jerusalem. We will go by the way of Germany and 
call on Martin Luther and Melancthon ; we will touch 
at Wales and dine with Christmas Evans ; we will 
then proceed to London and tarry long enough to get 
well acquainted with Whitefield, Fletcher, John and 
Charles Wesley ; then we will take ship and cross old 
ocean to the shores of America, and salute Asbury, 
Coke, Jonathan Edwards and others, and be sure to 
stop and say how do you do to Jacob Abbott, father 
Giles and other pioneers ; and as we pass westward 
we will stop and take a dinner of bear's meat in the 



Gloomy IUxigion. 35 

log cabin of J. B. Finley, and have a time with jovial 
Peler Cartwright ; and having ended our journey, we 
will open our portfolio and show facts in sufficient 
number to prove that we are maintaining the order 
of God. If the reader is not satisfied, why, then we 
shall give him up and let him learn his error when 
the blast of Gabriel's trump shall be heard by the 
dead, and God himself shall descend with a shout. 

On the journey we shall take special pains to knock 
at the doors of the prophets and holy men in every 
age and ask them, whether shouting aloud, clapping 
of hands, and falling under God's power are in order 
in their times, or whether they perform their daily 
marches with mufiied drums and funeral dirges, 
singing— 

"Hark from the tombs a doleful sound." 

They will respond that if they had their sorrow, they 
had their seasons of great joy ; that if they sometimes 
wept, they shouted as frequently. The gloomy reli- 
gion that many rate so highly was never to our taste. 
When we were a small boy, in a certain branch of 
Zion, a Christian's thermometer was his face. The 
one with the longest face was made a Deacon, and 
the one who could testify that he was the greatest sin- 
ner on earth was made an Elder. The unpardonable 



3(3 Gloomy Religion. 

sin was for a person to say that he knew his sins for- 
given and that he was a child of God. If his joy rose 
above zero he was pronounced a fanatic, and if his 
zeal wa9 more than lukewarm he was an enthusiast, 
and his friends began to shake their heads dubiously, 
and talk of the asylum. But if a good sister should 
say in open court that she loved the Savior, the gag 
law was enforced at once. We then said in our heart, 
if this is religion, O Lord deliver us from it. We 
felt as the man on the platform of the gallows, who 
being told that he could have his choice, to return to 
his home and live all his days with, a perpetually 
scolding wife or be hung by the neck, replied, " drop 
your platform and let me swing." 

We should have been converted long before, if rel- 
igion had not seemed so gloomy an affair. All wish 
to be happy ; and when they see Christians who en- 
dure instead of enjoying religion, whose life is all 
conflict without victory, all wormwood and gall with- 
out a single drop of the oil of .gladness, no wonder 
they prefer spiritual death, just as the person referred 
to preferred to sleep in the tomb rather than be caged 
with a scolding wife, whose tongue, says Solomon, is 
like the continual dropping of water. Men will not 
resign the positive enjoyments of life for a life com- 
pound e4 of fears, gloom and sorrow. But, glory to 



Spiritual Religion. 37 

God, we were not born under that star. Our spiritu- 
al morning was an Austerlitz. We passed from dark- 
ness to a most marvelous light. Our captivity was 
turned back. Our mouth was filled with loud laugh- 
ter, so that we aroused the whole encampment. 
Surely we were not a still-born child if we can judge 
from the laughing and shoutings of our first moments 
in the new life. Deliverance came to our heart 
about one o'clock in the morning of the tenth of Au- 
gust, 1842, after a long season of weeping and mourn- 
ing. It was given while sister Catharine Acre was 
explaining, in a conversation of not more than ten 
minutes, the simplicity of faith and the plainness of 
the way. Thank God ! John Calvin was not able to 
give all our sisters the lockjaw. 

But it is time to close this chapter. We will go as 
proposed and have an introduction to Pharaoh and 
Moses, and tarry awhile with the brethren in the 
brickyard. 



CHAPTEE FIFTH. 



Ims »n& fcis Pofytr. 



As Moses and his followers are to be the heroes of 
the next few pages, it will not perhaps be inappropri- 
ate to sketch a little of their history. 

Egypt had reached its noontide glory. It had 
nearly reached, too, the summit of its iniquity. Its 
cup of wickedness was just ready to overflow. There 
was a gathering storm of Divine wrath, soon to burst 
like a tornado on the land, but the haughty king and 
his courtiers did not perceive it. They were confident 
in their strength. Abundance crowned their fertile 
soil, and they exulted in the extent and strength of 
their cities. Pharaoh reposed in seeming security in 
his proud capital. Its stately domes raise their heads 
to the clouds, the golden terraces of which gracefully 
toss back the rays of an oriental sun, as if saying, this 
glory belongs to Thee, O king of day. Their temples. 



Gloky of Egypt. 39 

indeed, point toward heaven, but they are scenes of 
impious worship. And while superstition is enshrin- 
ed in the temple, vices, like giants of ancient le- 
gends, parade the streets and receive universal obedi- 
ance. And see the proud old slaveholding king as he 
passes along with his train. They sweep the whole 
side walk, like our American slaveholders for all the 
world, and crowd common folks into the ditch, if they 
are not fortunate enough to dodge off into some alley. 
But how soon will all this grandeur vanish. Divine 
stratagem will lead the nation into an ambuscade, 
from which there can be no escape, where monarch 
and subject will be overwhelmed and destroyed to- 
gether. 

Our way leads to the banks of the Nile where 
scenes of greatest moment are transpiring. There 
stands a Hebrew mother, pressing to her heaving bo- 
som a comely child. It is a plump, curly headed boy, 
whose beauty is the promise of his future greatness. 
How rapidly her tears fall, baptizing the cheeks of the 
little slumbering one. Bitter, scalding tears she sheds. 
Her soul is an iEtna of sighs and sorrows. No time 
for shouting now. Only savages would raise the song 
of joy at such a time as this. It is a time to weep. 
The tyrant seeks the life of every Hebrew man-child. 
For three months has this mother with wonderful sa= 



40 Ark of Rushes. — Trust in Providence. 

gacity concealed her loved one ; but she can do it no 
longer. She must see it coldly murdered or give it 
to the care of Providence. She prefers to trust God. 
And now she builds the frail ark of bulrushes, sets it 
afloat with its precious burden, and commends it to 
the Divine protection with earnest prayers. 

Reader, are you a mother ? Have you ever adjust- 
ed the tiny coffin pillow for your innocent babe, 
whose rosy cheek has paled, whose life has stolen 
away, leaving you only the cold marble brow to kiss? 
If so, you can sympathise with this mother, in her 
lonely walks and hours of anguish. 

A fairer picture of entire trust in God was never 
drawn even by the pencil of inspiration. How ten- 
derly she lays the little treasure down in the frail 
vessel, her heart well nigh breaking as she sees a tear 
gathering on his cheek like a dew-drop on a rose ; but 
she hears the heavy T tread of the sentinel, quickly 
shuts down the lid, leaves the precious cargo on the 
stream, and hurries to her home, bedewing the earth 
with her tears and stirring heaven with her cries. 
She goes to her closet, there pouring out her sorrows 
to Him whose sympathies are stirred even by the 
gasping of a sparrow, shot by the cunning archer. 
But her sorrow is to be turned into joy. God has sent 
the king's daughter to the banks of the river. She 



Strong Cords. 41 

has found the babe, she has made it her own, and now 
applies to his mother to become his nurse. Was there 
ever a happier providence than this ? She holds her 
bo j in her arms again. She had trusted God, and 
now the child was restored. Again she sheds tears, 
but not scalding tears of grief. It is a shower in sun- 
shine. She shouts aloud ; she leaps for joy. And as 
she remembers that she holds in her arms the heir 
apparent of the throne of Egypt, another tide of glory 
rolls upon her and she falls under its power. Ah, 
Jochebed, some of the orderly ones will think yon are 
a little too wild in your ecstacy. Away with criticism 
at a time like this ! It is a time to rejoice. The rap- 
ture that tilled the soul of this mother cannot talk 
in the ordinary language of life. Extraordinary 
joys can be manifested only in an extraordinary man- 
ner. The louder she shouted the more becoming she 
acted. 

The strongest cord on earth is the love of a mother 
to her infant ; but a stronger one is the love of God to 
man. " Can a woman forget her sucking child, that 
she should not have compassion on the son of her 
womb 3" Yea she may forget. But the annals of three 
worlds are defied to prove that God has forgotten one 
that trusted in him. The names of his children are 
all engraven on the palms of his hands by the sol- 



42 Strong Ccrds. 

dier's spikes, and upon his heart by the soldier's 
spear. 

Heart rending indeed must it have been for the 
Hebrew mother to push off the little helmless ark 
with its precious freight upon the treacherous waters ; 
and how hard has it been for many a mother to close 
the eyes of her child, and cast it in the waters of Jor- 
dan. How hard must it have been for Abraham to 
take his Isaac, the fair child of promise, and start up- 
on a three days' journey, to find the place where he 
was to sacrifice him upon an altar. How must his 
v heart have bled as the knife glittered in the sunlight 
which was to be sheathed in his tender bosom, and as 
he thought of the fire which was to consume his body, 
and the winds which were to play with his ashes on 
the summit of Mount Moriah. But the blade was 
turned away from Isaac, and drank the blood of Jesus. 
Abraham had learned that it was God's province to 
command, man's to obey ; and by his obedience he 
obtained the honorable appellation, Father of the 
Faithful. His faith was made perfect by his works. 
And now he returns with a new exhibition of the Di- 
vine faithfulness. He finds it safe to trust God. And 
if Jochebed was filled with joy when a watchful P^ ev- 
idence restored her child to her arms, how must Sarah 
have felt when Abraham told her the story and ob- 



Disconsolate Mothers. — Flnley's Vision. 43 

ject of his journey, and restored the beloved Isaac to 
her embraces. Were there no tears of joj ? no shouts 
of triumph ? Ah ! says the patriarch, this was the 
sunniest hour of my life. My limbs were invigorated 
with new life and made as supple as a boy of six- 
teen, so that I leaped like a roebuck on the mountain. 

But here is a disconsolate mother who cannot pre- 
cisely see the application of all this, and she inquires, 
when shall I embrace my little one again ? It will 
not come to you on earth, but you may go to it in 
heaven. Do you not see the gospel ladder ? It stands 
at your feet and its topmost round reaches heaven. 
There are three rounds, faith, hope, and love, and am 
gels are constantly ascending and descending to con- 
duct mothers to their children in the abodes of bliss 
— the homes of their never forgotten little ones. 

For the comfort of the bereaved mothers of earth, 
we will introduce a vision of Rev. J. 13. Finley, re- 
lated in his Autobiography :— 

"It was in the summer of 1842, Worn down with 
"fatigue, I was completing my last round of quarterly 
"meetings, and winding up the labors of a very toil- 
some year. I had scarcely finished my work till I 
"was most violently attacked with b'lious fever, and 
4 it was with great difficulty I reached home. The 
'disease had taken so violent a hold on my system 



44 Finley's Vision. 

"that I sank rapidly under its power. Every thing 
"that kind attention and medical skill could impart 
"was resorted to, to arrest its ravages ; but all was in 
"vain, and my life was despaired of. On the seventh 
"night, in a state of entire insensibility to all around 
"me, when the last ray of hope had departed, and my 
"weeping family and friends were standing around 
"my couch waiting to see me breathe my last, it seem- 
"ed to me that a heavenly visitant entered my room. 
"It came to my side, and, in the softest and most sil- 
"very tones, which fell like rich music upon my ear, 
"it said, 'I have come to conduct you to another state 
"and place of existence.' In an instant I seemed to 
"rise, and, gentle borne by my angel guide, I floated 
' out upon the ambient air. Soon earth was lost in the 
"distance, and around us, on every side, were worlds 
"of light and glory. On, on, away, away from world 
"to luminous worlds afar, we sped with the velocity 
"of thought. At length we reached the gates of par- 
"adise ; and O, the transporting scenes that fell upon 
"my vision as the emerald portals, wide and high, 
"rolled back upon their golden hinges ! Then, in its 
''fullest extent, did I realize the invocation of the poet : 

" 'Burst, ye emerald g.-.tes, and bring 

"To my raptured vision 
"All the exstatic joys that spring 

"Round the bright Elysian.' 



Finley's Vision. 45 

"Language, however, is inadequate to describe what 
* then, with unvailed eyes, I saw. The vision is in- 
delibly pictured on my heart. Before me, spread 
"out in beauty, was a broad sheet of water, clear as 
"crystal, not a single ripple on its surface, and its pu- 
'rity and clearness indescribable. On each side of 
"this lake, or river, rose up the most tall and beauti- 
"ful trees, covered with all manner of fruit and flow- 
"ers, the brilliant hues of which were reflected in the 
"bosom of the placid river. 

"While I stood gazing with joy and rapture at the 
"scene, a convoy of angels was seen floating in the 
"pure ether of that world. They all had long wings, 
"and, although they went with the greatest rapidity, 
"yet their wings were folded close by their side. 
"While I gazed I asked my guide who they were, and 
"what their mission. To this he responded, 'They are 
"angels, dispatched to the world from whence you 
"came on an errand of mercy.' I could hear strains 
"of the most entrancing melody all around me, but no 
"one was discoverable but my guide. At length I 
"said, * Will it be possible for me to have a sight of 
"some of the just made perfect in glory V Just then 
"there came before us three persons ; one had the ap- 
pearance of a male, the other a female, and the third 
"an infant. The appearance of the first two was 



46 Fini.ey's Yision. 

"somewhat similar to the angels I saw, with the ex- 
ception that they had crowns upon their heads of the 
"purest yellow, and harps in their hands. Their 
"robes, which were full and flowing, were of the pur- 
est white* Their countenances were lighted up with 
"a heavenly radiance, and they smiled upon me with 
"ineffable sweetness. 

"There was nothing with wdiich the blessed babe or 
"child could be compared. It seemed to be about 
"three feet high. Its wings, which were long and 
''most beautiful, were tinged with all the color^of the 
"rainbow. Its dress seemed to be of the whitest silk, 
"covered with the softest white down. The driven 
"snow could not excel it for whiteuess and purity. 
'"Its face was all radiant with glory ; its very smile 
"now plays around my heart. I gazed and gazed with 
"wonder upon this heavenly child. At length I said, 
" 'If I have to return to earth, from whence I came, 
"I should love to take this child with me, and show 
"it to the weeping mothers of earth. Methinks, when 
"they see it, they will never shed another tear over 
"their children when they die.' So anxious was I to 
"carry out the desire of my heart, that I made a grasp 
"at the bright and beautiful one, desiring to clasp it 
"in my arms, but it eluded my grasp, and plunged 
"into the river of life* Soon it rose up from the wa» 



Finley's Vision,. 47 

"ters, and as the drops fell from its expanding wings, 
"they seemed like diamonds, so brightly did they spar- 
"kle. Directing its course to the other shore, it flew 
"up to one of the topmost branches of one of life's 
"fair trees. "With a look of most seraphic sweetness 
"it gazed upon me, and then commenced singing in 
"heaven's own strains, 'To Him that hath loved me, 
"and washed me from my sins in his own blood, to 
"him be glory both now and forever. Amen.' At 
"that moment the power of the eternal God came up- 
"on me, and I began to shout, and, clapping my 
"hands, I sprang from my bed, and was healed as in- 
"s'antly as the lame man in the beautiful porch of the 
"temple, who 'went walking, and leaping, and prais- 
"ing God.' Overwhelmed with the glory I saw and 
"felt, I could not cease praising God. The next Sab- 
"bath I was at camp meeting, filled with the love and 
"power of God. There I told the listening thousands 
"what I saw and felt, and what God had done for me, 
"and loud were the shouts of glory that reverberated 
"through the forests." 

How much is embraced in the little monosyllable, 
trust. There is grace enough in it to freight a larger 
vessel than the steamship Leviathan. Trust ! it is an 
ocean in a dew-drop, a millenium in a moment. 
When Dr. Payson was dying he was asked if it was 



48 Finley's Vision. 

not hard to leave his children. He replied, when you 
were a little boy were you afraid to leave your toys 
in the care of your parent until you returned from 
school ? " Blessed are all they that put their trust in 
him." 

But we must stop. There is no end to this theme. 
It takes us above the stars, and sets us down amid 
the shouts of the redeemed, in the mansions of eter- 
nal blessedness. So we will close this chapter by 
singing, an appropriate Hymn. 



HE DOETH ALL THINGS WELL. 

I remember how I loved her, when a little guiltless child 
I saw her in the cradle, as she iook'd on me and smiled ; 
My cup of happiness was full, my joy words cannot tell, 
And I blessed the glorious Giver, who doeth all things well. 

Months passM — that bud of promise was unfolding every hour 
I thought earth had never smiled upon a fairer flower; 
So beautiful, it well might grace the bower where angels dwell, 
And waft its fragrance to His throne who doeth all things well. 

Years fled — that little sister then was dear as life to me ; 
She awoke in my unconscious heart a wild idolatry ; 
I worshipp'd at an earthly shrine, lured by some magic spell, 
Forgetful of the praise of Him who doeth all things well. 

She was the lovely star whose light around my pathway shone 
Amid this darksome vale of tears, through which I journeyed 
on; 



Finley's Vision. 49 

Its radiance had obscured the light which round His throne 

doth dwell, 
And I wander'd far away from Him who doelh all things welL 

That star went down in beauty, yet it shineth sweetly now 
In the bright and dazzling coronet that decks the Savior's brow ; 
She bowM to the Destroyer, whose shafts none may repol, 
But we know, for God has told us, he doeth all things well, 

I remember well my sorrow, as I stood beside her bed, 

And my deep and heartfelt anguish, when then they told me 

she was dead ; 
But, ! that cup of bitterness, let not my heart rebel, 
God gave, he took, he will restore — h$ doelh all things well* 



CHAPTER SIXTH. 



% pps 0f tfjjs&t 



And now to get along with the story as rapidly as 
possible, we will take a forty years' nap down in some 
sleepy hollow, like Washington Irving's Rip Yan 
Winkle, and see where the world will be when we 
wake up. Well, here we are again, up and dressed. 
"We have had a seemingly short, but very refreshing 
sleep. And now how a s re the world's affairs shaping ? 
What has become of the little Moses ? He is now 
forty years old, full six feet in his stockings, and well 
proportioned, and well skilled in all the learning of 
the Egyptians. But what is it he is doing? He 
seems to be engaged in a very unusual kind of em- 
ployment. In his hand he holds a pair of ballances. 
In one scale he is putting the wealth, the honors, the 
dazzling glories, and glittering crown of Egypt ; in 



Unusual Employment. — Moses' Commission. 51 

the other, the associations and afflictions of God's 
people together with the recompense of reward in the 
world of glory. The scale turns, and he is identified 
with the humble laborers of the brick yard, and turns 
his back on the abundance and splendors of Egypt. 

The next thing we see of him he is rusticating forty 
years on the mountains of Midian, preparing for the 
hardships of his subsequent eventful life. God?s ap- 
pointed hour has come. He stands barefooted on 
holy ground, and listens tremblingly to the voice of 
God from the burning bush. I have heard, says 
God, in heaven my dwelling place of the afflictions of 
my people, their sighs and tears, their groans and 
prayers, and have come to deliver them from the 
proud oppressor. Go to the haughty slave holder, 
and say to him in my name, let this oppressed people 
go. He accomplishes his mission. The haughty 
monarch turns turkey red, and asks, who is God ? is 
there any prince that dare interfere with my decrees ? 
are there any laws superior in authority to my laws ? 
How like the Senators of the slaveholding South when 
one of their peers arose in his place and said there 
was a higher law than the constitution. In their 
wrath they responded, who dare interfere with pur 
reserved rights of making chattels of men and women ? 
and making them He down m mud holes, tha»t our- 



52 The Plagues. 

selves and children may pass over dry shod, Hoses 
as well as Seward was a higher lawman. He meant 
to show the world, and Pharaoh in the bargain, that 
God and one man were a majority. And now see 
how soon one withering look of God, will dim the 
glory and blast the hopes of ungodly individuals or 
nations. The river Nile, its crystal waters agitated 
by its finny inhabitants, who are sporting in the ex- 
uberance of their joy, like children at a Sabbath 
School pic-nic in the wood, when Moses stretches his 
rod over it, becomes a stagnant pool of blood, and the 
fishes floaC like dead backsliders on the surface. — 
Again he stretches forth his rod, and filthy, slippery 
frogs intrude themselves, like the temptations of 
christians, into every dwelling, from the hovel to the 
palace, leaping into every bread trough, and pollut- 
ing every chamber. Again, his rod is stretched forth, 
and there is throughout the land a stench like that of 
sacrifices offered to God without faith and good works. 
Upon the heels of this visitation there come battalions 
of vermin and locusts, like the army of Blucher, 
marching to the music of heaven's artillery, and the 
flashings of Divine wrath. An awful night enveloped 
Egypt* Fearful thunderings paled every cheek, and 
the fitful eorruseatioos of eleetrio light rendered the 
darkness more oppressive, 



Too much Noise. — Funeral Scene. 53 

But hold on says a Pharisee, there is too much noise 
and confusion ! This cannot be God's order ! Hold ! 
says a sister I am too nervous and sensitive to endure 
so much commotion. Why so much racket to awak- 
en a hardened old sinner, and make him let go his 
hold on downtrodden Israel ! Why could not the 
work be done in a more quiet and deliberate manner ! 
But there is yet more to come. The revival has but 
just commenced. The arrows are just beginning to 
rankle. The mourners bench is now to be present- 
ed. Through the darkness so thick that it could be 
felt, were heard loud lamentations. Reader were you 
ever at a funeral where the first born son, the hope 
and staff of the father, and the joy of the loving 
mother, lay in front of the pulpit? The preacher 
unveils futurity in his sermon, portraying the reward 
of the righteous and the doom of the wicked ; in his 
address to the mourning ones he breaks up the great 
deep of the heart with the gospel plough ; and now 
the undertaker removes the coffin lid, and father and 
mother, brother and sister, take their last look upon 
the loved one whose life has flown, whose eye once 
sparkled with intelligence, and whose cheek was once 
robed in beauty ; and now they pass to the tomb 
burdening the air with their sighs, and from there to 
the now desolate home. The rocky hearts of infidels 



5i .Universalist. 

have been toadied by scenes like this, and have min- 
gled their tears with the bereaved, as Jesus did with 
the sisters of Bethany. Now gather together hun- 
dreds of thousands of funeral groups, with their woes 
and wailings, and you may have some idea of Egypt's 
fearful night of weeping. The angel of death has 
passed swiftly from dwelling to dwelling. The first 
born throughout Egypt are slain. And now wailings 
loud and prolonged break the awful stillness. 

The angel has shot his last arrow, and is about to 
rejoin the celestial choir, when he is caught by the 
arm by a Universalist who cries in his ear — partiality, 
your God is a partial God. Why not enter the hum- 
ble cottages of the Ilebrews ? In Goshen we bear 
no wailing, but there is a bright light shining through 
the lattice of every window. There is not a sick or 
feeble one among the two millions of God's chosen. — 
They are all awake, with staves in their hands, their 
loins girt about ; and are feasting on the roasted lamb 
with bitter herbs. All look like minute men of war, 
every moment expecting orders to march. But the 
messenger of God answers, my commission reads 
thus: "Thussaith the Lord, say ye unto the right- 
eous it shall be well with him, but woe unto the wick- 
ed it shall be ill with him." 

The voice of the Captain of the Lord's host is now 



Come Out. 55 

heard, come ye out from among them and be ye sep- 
arate, and speedily a solid column of two millions, 
with cattle and equipages march over the plains with 
their faces toward the promised land. And now as 
we are 6afely out of Egypt, we feel like shouting 
glory to God, hallelujah to Him that hath delivered 
us from the power of the old slave holder, shivering 
in pieces his oppressive yoke. But I see you are 
something like an inflated ball con, twisting and screw- 
ing, with your handkerchief crammed into your 
mouth. See the man ! He withdraws his handker- 
chief, and sponges up the tears that overflow the 
banks of his cheeks, and says, it would be a great re- 
lief to me, if I could raise the valve, and give a few 
locomotive yells. It would ease up this inward pres- 
sure amazingly. But then what will folks say about 
it. You know the church I belong to is opposed to 
shouting, and I am thereby prevented from giving 
God glory for delivering power. 

A few years ago when old England resolved to 
give back the freedom which had been stolen from 
their colored population, meetings were appointed in 
the mission houses for all the slaves on the last night 
of their bondage. Five minutes before twelve it was 
arranged that all should fall on their knees and re- 
main in profound silence, the heart mean while pour- 



50 West India Emancipation. 

ing out its gratitude to God for their deliverance, un- 
til the clock should strike the midnight hour. Now 
transpired a scene of awful grandeur. Twenty thou- 
sand slaves in iive minutes were to be free men. — 
But before the tardy minute hand stood plumb on the 
old clock, they seemed to stretch forth their hand in 
advance of time, broke off some of the boughs of the 
tree of liberty, as Christians do from the tree of life, 
and. regaled themselves with its delicious fruit, so that 
silence was broken by screams and bursts of laughter 
and half-smothered shouts ; but when the old clock 
drew back her hammer and struck the first blow, it 
broke every fetter, and unloosed every tongue, and 
was the signal for the clapping of glad hands, and 
shouts that rent the heavens. All, from the little 
prattler to hoary headed grandsires. joined the tri- 
umphant shout. Who can say this was disorder? — 
who with a free heart in his own bosom can say here 
was too much noise? When fathers, mothers, chil- 
dren, who had been torn asunder, leap into each oth- 
ers embrace, and all find shelter under the wide- 
spreading branches of the tree of liberty, it is a time 
to sing, and clap their hands, and shout. 

But the deliverance celebrated by their joyful ac- 
clamations, was only temporal. What is the tem- 
poral to the deliverance of the soul from the bondage 



Spiritual Freedom. 57 

of sin ? What chaff is to the wheat. And what are 
natural in comparison to spiritual joys ? And while 
the Hebrew and the African are permitted to shout 
their deliverance, shall the Christian put his joy in 
the dungeon of his heart, and not allow it to see the 
li glit of day ? It is natural for joy to show itself by 
outward demonstrations, God intended that the Chris- 
tian should exult, and manifest his exultation. The 
Christian ought to be, and appear to be, the happiest 
man this side of heaven. Shame and confusion to 
those who would spike our cannon and put out our 
torch-lights. 



CHAPTER SEVENTH. 



Israel's Jirst f rial. 



We are now safely out of Egypt. Let ns now take 
our Gospel rakes and as we pass over the ground, 
gather up the wheat by the way ; and we will invite 
sister Rnth to go along with us, to pick up the scat- 
tering heads so that nothing may be lost. 

How striking the likeness between nature, and the op- 
erations of providence and grace. But it is just what 
we might have expected. It is one God that gives 
birih to all things. The God that delivered the Is- 
raelites from Egyptian bondage, delivers the soul from 
the bondage of sin. It is interesting to observe the 
analogy between the two cases. Satan is the mon- 
arch, the Pharaoh, that sits enthroned in the hearts of 
ungodly men. The temples of Egypt were crowded 
with idols and idolatrous worshippers ; and so is the 
unregenerate heart full of idolatry. Self, in which 



Providence and Grace. 59 

Satan enshrines himself, is the ehief idol. Then come 
the subordinate Gods, the Inst of the eye, the lust of 
the flesh, and the pride of life. These are three slave- 
drivers, like the task-masters under Pharaoh, who re- 
quired the tale of brick ever j night, straw or no straw. 
We talk about southern slave drivers, and burn with 
indignation as we hear the slaves cries around the 
auction block, or when the lash is applied ; but what 
of these task-masters and the woes they occasion? 
TThat a tyrant is the lust of the eye. How he lashes 
his votaries over the fields, and through the mire, 
storm and sun, to procure a three-story freestone front, 
or to decorate the body like a peacock strutting in the 
poultry yard. And the lust of the flesh. Like the 
horse leech, it sucks the very life blood of virtue and 
innocence, disgorges itself into the grave, and con- 
stantly clamors for more. Then comes the pride of 
life, as tall in his own estimation as Trinity steeple. 
He thiuks that God has made him, and his kinsmen, 
from the finest and costliest flour, and the balance of 
creation from the middlings or bran. All must bow 
to his sceptre or break ; and there are slavish spirits 
enough to do it. How marvelous to see the obsequi- 
ousness of men to the devil and his drivers. They hug 
their chains just as mothers do their babies. 

The difficulties of Moses, as leader, were greatly 



60 Pkovidence and Gkace. 

augmented by the earthly disposition and tendencies 
of the Israelites. When Christ comes to the temple 
of the heart, and begins to upset their tables and 
break in pieces their idols, he is desired to depart, 
just as the Gergesenes desired him to leave their 
coasts when he permitted the devils cast out of their 
neighbors to enter into their swine, which resulted in 
the loss of their property. How frequently is it that 
every earthly hope must be blasted, before even a 
mourning soul will leave its Goshen of sin, and follow 
some Moses out of the house of bondage. The case 
of the author is one of this kind. The drawings of 
the Spirit and the beseechings of friends were not 
sufficient to win us from spiritual idolatry. Our first- 
born was then snatched away. We were then led to 
the brink of Jordan, and shaken over the gulf. Then 
our worldly goods were scattered to the four winds. 
And finally, to complete our calamities, the world 
with all its beauties was concealed from us forever, 
by an incurable blindness. Here was thick darkuess, 
thick enough to be felt, temporal and spiritual. But, 
glory to God, we soon saw the gray twilight of a spir 
itual morning, and as we steadfastly looked, the sun 
of righteousnes began to show the upper edge of its 
golden rim above the calm sea of life, and soon our 
darkness was dissipated, and soul and body seemed 



At Migdol 01 

like the burning bush on the high cliffs of Midian. 
The world, the flesh, and the devil were now under 
our feet. Our mouth was filled with loud laughter 
and shouts of praise, and like Ihmyan's pilgrim, we 
took three leaps towards Mount Zion. And now we 
are marching with our Hebrew brethren to the prom- 
ised land. May God keep us from falling out by the 
way. 

Well, here we are, at Migdol, the place where the 
host are to encamp. The king of day is beginning 
to draw his golden tinged curtains, and preparing to 
retire for the night. It is now time for the host to 
arrive, and we will take our stand where we can see 
the companies coming in. We see here a band of one 
thousand, with all their cattle and camp equipage ; 
t\\ev have pitched their tent, larger than any circus 
or fair tent you ever saw, sufficient to accommodate 
the entire band ; and they have stationed their flocks 
and herds near. One such band as that would be an 
imposing sight to the inhabitants of the country. We 
look again and see one -hundred such bands with all 
their appendages, and we exclaim how magnificent 
the spectacle ! But what will you say, Reader, when 
we tell you that we have shown you but one twenti- 
eth of the whole? And here they are, two millions 
of people, all snugly settled for the night. A vast 



62 Fugitive Slave Law. 

army indeed ! and all are exulting in newly found 
freedom. They are no longer laborers in a brick-yard, 
but the chosen of God. 

But now comes an hour of trial. They are in a 
critical position ; and when they hear the thundering 
tread of forty thousand war horses, they become aware 
of their danger. Pharaoh is on their track. Here 
are the practical workings of the first fugitive slave 
law. He cannot afford to lose so many smart hands. 
And now the fugitive camp is filled with consterna- 
tion. Husbands and wives embrace each other as 
they suppose for the last time. The aged sire pre- 
pares himself for his expected fate. Mothers are im- 
printing kiss after kiss upon the soft cheeks of the 
infants whom they expect to see crushed beneath the 
ponderous wheels of Pharaoh's chariot. The earth is 
moistened as with dew by the tears that are shed, and 
the voice of murmurings mingling with their sighings, 
rolls through the valleys and up the mountain sides, 
like the sound of many waters. Ah ! what a weight 
of fear and regret has settled down on the camp of 
Israel. This is no time for joyous demonstrations. 
It is a time of weeping and sorrow. The first temp- 
tation has come. God was going to deliver, but he 
has led them where they are in their enemy's power. 
The Red Sea is before them, on either hand are im- 



Night op Weeping. 



63 



passable mountains, and behind them is a relent ess 
and powerful power. Their faith falters, and they 
are in despair. But now the purposes of God are to 
be manifested, and his people are to be rescued from 
their critical position. Moses stands forth and says, 
« Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the 
Lord, which he will shew yon to-day, for the Egyp- 
tians whom ye have seen to-day ye shall see no more 
forever. The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall 
hold vour peace." And now we will leave them for 
a little, waiting with trembling hearts for the prom- 



ised salvation. 



How similar to this is the experience of the truly 

converted. How happy are they to think that they 

are out of Egypt. But temptation comes. Satan, 

the severe task-master, pnrsues. And perhaps the 

*oul in its bitterness will regret that it has left Egypt, 

just as Israel did in his hour of trial. It is forgotten 

that through tribulation deep, the way to glory runs. 

But there is many a Moses to cry out, "Stand still, 

and see the salvation of the Lord." If troubles are 

as numerous as Pharaoh's minions we will not fear; 

God will help us, and that right early. 



CHAPTER EIGHTH. 



tosing % |A St*. 



The darkest time is often j HS t before the break of 
day. The battle always precedes the victory. The 
night of weeping goes before the morning of rejoic- 
ing. Call down from the realms of glory, one of the 
many millions there, clothed in white raiment, and 
Tdio went there through great tribulation, and ask him 
how many battles he fought on earth. He will an- 
swer, ten thousand. Ask him how many victories he 
•gained, and he will reply, ten thousand and one. The 
last enemy he measured swords with was death, whom 
he met and conquered in the name of Jesus. One 
more triumph, then trial ; one moreday of joy, then a 
night of sorrow; and the last day a^ eternity of bliss. 
We left our brethren and sisters i|the last chapter 
under sore trials. They were in heaviness through 
manifold temptations, in order that the f*ial of theii 



Young Converts. 63 

faith might bo found unto the praise of their God. 
God's ways are not as our ways in the government of 
his family. We sometimes chastise our children be- 
cause they make a noise ; but God often chastises his 
children to cause them to make a noise — the noise of 
weeping and penitential agonies. How like an affec- 
tionate mother, who hides behind the door, and re- 
joices to see her little one in sorrow and tears, search- 
ing for her in every corner of the house, refusing to 
be comforted until it finds her; but when the little 
one is about to lay down in despair and cry itself to 
sleep, she shows her smiling face, the tears are all 
kissed away, and an infant millenium has begun. 
Our heavenly Father often suffers his children to run 
into difficulties, that he may have an opportunity of 
helping them out. It is hardly possible to make us 
sensible of his willingness and ability to save, in any 
other way. The physician's skill could never be 
known if no one was ever sick. Our benevolent feel- 
ings could never be known if there were do suffering 
poor on earth. And the compassion of the Savior 
could never be realized were there no sin and sorrow 
in the world. 

"With pitying eyes the Prince of Peace 

Beheld our helpless grief; 
He saw, and Oh I amazing love ! 

He flew to our relief." 



60 Mokning of Joy. — -Shaft of Fire. 

But it is time for us to look after the young con- 
verts in the wilderness. Let us go back and see how 
the battle goes. They have neither horses nor chari- 
ots, battle-bow or spear. They are as lambs pursued 
by a pack of wolves. It was night when we left 
them ; the moon and stars were concealed by dark 
clouds; and so were all their bright hopes darkened 
in a moment. But now we are to behold another 
scene. All are sleeping sweetly as infants in their 
cradles. All tears have been wiped away. The camp 
is as light as day. Oh ! wonder of wonders ! What 

a spectacle is before us ! A shaft of mellow, heavenly 
light, at least two miles square, based on the earth 
and reaching up to the heavens. A lady once told 
us that the most magnificent sight she ever beheld, 
was the burning of the Presbyterian Church in Utica. 
The flames bursting out of the lower windows, envel- 
oping the whole building, and finally running up the 
lofty steeple, made an unspeakably grand pillar of 
fire. For miles around, a pin could be picked up or 
the finest print read a-t the midnight hour. Thus was 
it in the canvass city of Israel. God was there, the 
refuge of his people, and his glory blazed with unsur- 
passed brilliancy. On this ground were experienced 
their first night of weeping and their first morning of 
rejoicing. 



Shaft of Fire. 67 

Header, if Moses could pause and wonder as he 
gazed on the burning bush, may we not profitably 
tarry awhile and behold the glory of God ? St. John 
has truly said that God is light, and in him is no dark- 
ness at all, and that if we walk in the light as he is in 
the light, we have fellowship one with another, and 
the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanseth us from all un- 
righteousness ; and again he says, God is love, as vv ell 
as light, and they that dwell in God, dwell in love ; 
and now, dear reader, if you have been purified by 
this blood, take our arm, and let us enter into this pil- 
lar of fire — of light and love. This is the holy of ho- 
lies. Here we may inhale the breath of God. Was 
there ever such a promenade permitted mortals be- 
fore ? Yes. Enoch, and millions more, have enjoyed 
it. Here the king is seen in his beauty. Here, too, is 
the secure dwelling place, the munition of rocks. The 
spiritual senses are delighted, and the soul is tranquil 
in its assurance of perfect security. When the angel 
rolled away the stone from the sepulchre of Christ, he 
sat down upon it with folded pinions, and defied the 
powers of darkness to roll it back ; and now the pris- 
oner of hope may escape from the cold embrace of 
spiritual death, and reach the secure and charming 
abodes of the forever blest. 

Sweetly t and serenely sleep the chosen people. 



68 Safe Sleeping. — "Go Forward." 

And now the morning approaches. The venerable 
father as he arises, says to his wife and children, ban- 
ish all fear, Pharaoh must first overcome omnipotence, 
and corrupt Divine faithfulness, before he can harm 
one of us. Glory to God, the Shepherd that watches 
over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. And now* 
come? the king of day. The mountain, summits are 
tinged with gold, and have on their court dress, await- 
ing the glorious monarch. How brightly he smiles 
on the earth, and how quickly darkness vanishes into 
deep mountain caverns. And now, 

The camp 's to move on, 
And the priests with their trumpets do blow, 

Then all that would stand 

On their promised land, 
Must take up their baggage and go. 

Every tent is now struck. Each tribe rallies around 
its own standard. Judah is the vanguard. Now the 
vast pillar, which is a fire in the night and a cloud in 
the day, rises majestically, passes over the host and the 
sea, and sits on the opposite shore, as if saying to the 
vast army, come over and pitch your tents on this side 
the sea. A strange direction, indeed ! More strange 
than the the command of Christ to Peter to step out 
on the boisterous waves. The infidel may shrug his 
shoulders and say, that God is a hard master ; this is 



Sea Divided. 09 

an unreasonable requirement ; for how can so great a 
host pass the sea without so much as a skiff? But a 
voice from heaven says to all unbelievers, " Be still, 
and know that I am God." This is a day when God 
is to reap honors for himself, — a day never to be for- 
gotten by Israel. And now the command of God 
comes through Moses, to go forward. All looked 
with wonder and awe at the movement of the vast 
symbol of the Divine presence — and now their per- 
plexity is increased by the orders received from their 
general. They say, what is to be done? If we re- 
main here, Pharaoh will soon be upon us, and we shall 
be destroyed or re-enslaved ; if we go forward we shall 
be drowned. But these questions were soon settled. 
Their faith pointed toward the sea, just as the disturb- 
ed magnet soon settles and points to the north. For- 
ward they went, the sea divided and gave them a safe 
passage, and they were soon securely encamped under 
the directing and protecting cloud. Not a single 
lamb was lost, and all were happy. 

But what of Pharaoh and his host? They continue 
in their madness the pursuit. He is bound that the 
fugitive slave law shall be enforced. But all fugitive 
slave laws are now to receive an everlasting rebuke. 
There is an angel at the hub of every chariot pulling 
the linch-pins out The wheels roll off, and the chariots 



70 Sea Divided. 

drag in the mud. Glory to God for that. Oh ! Lord, 
pull the linch-pins out of every slaveholders^ chariot 
- — let them drag in the mud, — and, finally, with Pha- 
raoh and his host, be sunk in the bottom of the sea. 
Amen ! 

Reader, if you have truly passed from death unto 
life, and from the power of Satan unto God, you have 
passed through scenes similar to those described ; im- 
passable mountains on either hand, a sea in front, and 
a raging enemy in the rear. But you obtained deliv- 
erance. The rod of faith was stretched over the sea, 
the liquid elements became solid rock, like the sides 
of Christ's sepulchre, you passed with ease and safety, 
and was baptized on your passage under the cloud 
of the divine presence. Satan pursues, but his over- 
throw is certain. Every victory of the Christian is a 
defeat to him ; and when Christ shall lead the sacra- 
mental host to the celestial city, the enemy and pur- 
suer of saints will be cast into a hell deeper than the 
Bed Sea. 



CHAPTER NINTH. 



$mv$t rf t\t l&ti M €tiiMtii. 



You say we have been having rather a noisy time. 
Many tears have been shed, many groans have been 
uttered^ and occasionally there has been a shout, and 
some other extraordinary things, since we started.— 
You hope that after all this the excitement of the re • 
vival will cease ; that as the Devil is drowned all will 
settle down in peace and quietude. "Well, for your 
comfort, we have to tell you if you are a Pharisee 
and hate noise, that you need not take the cotton out 
of your ears yet ; if Pharaoh and his host were de- 
stroyed as ignominiously as the swine of the Gerge- 
senes, the Devil is yet alive ; and be it known unto 
you, that Christians have not yet done shouting and 
singing. 

Let us look again into the camp. Ah 1 every face 
is illuminated with joy. But says a Universalist, how 



72 Triumphant Songs. 

can they rejoice when so many fellow creatures lie in 
the depths of the sea ! How can we be happy in 
hearen and remember that human beings are in tor- 
ment ! The peuple of God did not put crape on their 
hats, or door knobs, but rejoiced as they saw their 
enemies, and the enemies of God overwhelmed. And 
now they prepare for a jubilee. The whole camp is 
stirring. Ten thousand timbrels and harps, with two 
millions of voices are heard in sacred song. Gladness 
displaces sorrow. The notes of joy and shouts of vic- 
tory, roll along the valleys, leap over mountain barri- 
ers, and ascend to the heavens. " Sing unto the Lord, 
for he hath triumphed gloriously ; the horse and the 
rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my 
strength and song, and he is become my sa'ivation." 
But we see some, with faces a fathom long, reach- 
ing for their hats, muttering as they go out, disorder 
and confusion, no place for meditation and prayer. — 
Hold a moment. If we gain a victory it ought to be 
celebrated. Wait a moment brother, we have a few 
more nuts for you to crack. Scripture says there is 
a time to mourn and a time to dance. "We have naa, 
on our route, occasion for deep mourning, for bitter 
tears ; this all will admit ; and this is the order of God. 
But must a victory be followed by long faces ? If 
ever there was a time to sing and sliout, it is after 



Holt Dancing. 73 

such a victory as the children of Israel are now cele- 
brating. And if a wicked man gains the victory over 
his sins, why may he not shout as lond as Israel did % 
Let us get a seat where we can see all that tran- 
spires in the camp, and hear the music that burdens 
the air with its delightful harmonies, and witness all 
the demonstrations of the people's joy. Two millions 
have just been delivered from a wicked slaveholder's 
power, and brought into the liberty of sons and 
daughters of the Almighty. Before us lies a lovely 
green plat of ten acres, environed with two millions 
of people. They are all dressed in their Sunday 
clothes. On the green there is a select party, of 
young and lovely maidens. Miriam the sister of 
Moses is their leader and governess. All are prepar- 
ing for a dance. Miriam now gives the signal with 
her timbrel, and the dance commences. All promen- 
ade around the open space, keeping perfect time to 
the lively music. They shout and leap for joy, and 
sing the overthrow of their enemy, and the power of 
Israel's God. Jehovah had gotten a great name. — 
Israel had obtained a marvelous deliverance. And 
now in the order, and by the direction of God, they 
are celebrating the event. 

Who is it that says the day ought not to be cele- 
brated with joyous demonstrations ? "What cares the 



7i Holy Dancing. 

nightingale if the toad despises her Banging $ She 
Would permit the toad to hop back to his damp dwell- 
ing, and sing on. And why should those care who 
are happy in God, filled with heavenly joy to the 
brim, who have received Gospel measure, joy pressed 
down and running over, if some cold Pharisee shakes 
his head, takes his hat and walks out, saying as he 
goes that these things cannot be right for he has never 
fek them. We receive his testimony ; he never felt 
the joys we feel. "We will leave him with other toads 
ill the dark damp cellars of unbelief. We will con* 
tinue to sing, and shout, and leap for joy in the holy 
dance, while the smiles of the Lord is the feast of our 
souls. Some think that the nearer their faces look 
like midnight, the more grace they possess. But God, 
who made the sun, and the flowers never sent us to 
proclaim such a lie as that. We are told to " rejoice 
in the Lord always.*' And what more ? " Again I 
say rejoice.'' What would have been thought of those 
who refused to participate in the rejoicings that fol- 
lowed the successful termination of our revolutionary 
struggle 1 The house that was not illuminated was a 
Tory's. The men that would not join in the univer* 
sal show of triumph was a Tory. A shout went up 
from log cabin and castle, from village and city, and 
every patriotic heart cried oai-t, amen ! to the noisy 



Holy Dancing. 75 

demonstration. And shall we not shout over the vic- 
tories which Christ is gaining over the Devil 'I Oh ! 
Lord, we will praise thee. Thine anger is turned 
away ; thou hast comforted us. 



CHAPTER TENTH. 



Sprk Sfcwtmg. 



We have frequently tarried by the way as we have 
come up out of Egypt, being determined to take notes 
by the way, for our own and the reader's profit. Glo- 
ry to God ! we have seen our enemies overthrown, 
and have had our jubilee over the event. And now 
we will take the lightning train, and slide down into 
the Gospel dispensation ; stopping of course to make 
short calls, to dine and sup along with the patriarchs 
and prophets, and see what they have to say about 
shouting, and other demonstrations of intense relig- 
ious feeling ; this being the subject we have by the 
ear. 

The tents are now struck, and the host begins to 
move, singing in a grand choms as they go s 



The Camp at Sinai, 77 

" The way is all new as it opens to view, 
And behind is the foaming Red Sea ; 
So none need to speak of the onions and leeks, 
Or to talk about garlic to me. 
On Jordan's near side, I can never abide. 
For no place of refuge I see, 
Till I come to the spot, and inherit the lot, 
Which the Lord will give unto me." 

And now that the bitter waters of Marah have been 
sweetened, we will all take a hearty drink and en- 
camp for the night. In the morning we breakfast on 
manna, and at noon dine on quails. And now the 
pillar of fire moves towards Mount Sinai, where God 
intends to give his law to his people. Standing in 
the midst of the most desolate scenery, Sinai lifts its 
huge form to the skies, like some monster slumbering 
in conscious strength. Its bald and dreary summit, 
its rocky, rugged sides, all its sombre features corres- 
pond to the surrounding desert scene. Desolation is 
written everywhere. The scene is a fit emblem of the 
heart of a proud, self-righteous Pharisee. The law is 
his glory, and his heart is as barren and cold as the 
summit of the mountain on which it was given. 

But now there is a general inquiry for Moses. JSTo 
one knows what has become of him. But at the end 
of forty days, behold two men coming down the side 
of the mountain. They are coming from the imme- 
diate presence of God. Their faces are shining with 



7$ Moses on the Mount. 

the radiance of Divine glory. Moses is bearing the 
two stone tables on which God has written the law 
with his own finger ; one stone containing our duty 
to God, the other our duty to man. They are draw- 
ing near the camp, but suddenly they halt. Hark ! 
says Moses to Joshua, I hear a shout, a noise in the 
camp. Joshua listens, shakes his head, and says, 
this is not the ring of the true metal, it is not the 
voice of victors in war, there is no God in the sound. 
Here was a believer who had the drum of his ear pu- 
rified ; no worldly wax to render imperfect his spkit- 
ual hearing. Men may pass counterfeit money on ig- 
norant men, but it is not so easy to deceive a sancti- 
fied ear in regard to a genuine shout. A hypocritic- 
al shout and empty aniens are our especial abhorrence, 
whether read from a gilt edged prayer book, or spon- 
taneously given. Let a Christian with the fullness 
of the blessing of the gospel of peace, listen at mid- 
night to the mockings of the half drunken sons of 
Belial without the camp, and then hear the genuine 
shout of a soul just emancipated from sin, or the 
'songs and halleluia's of a soul just over in the land of 
Beulah, and the difference will be detected in a mo- 
ment. Cannot a man, unless 'his hearing is defective, 
tell the difference between the bleating of a goat and 
a sheep ? There is as much difference between the 



Israel Backslides. 79 

true and counterfeit shout and song, as between the 
sound of a maniac dancing to the music of his own 
chains, and the sweet music that enraptures the saints 
in heaven. 

In a certain village there was a revival of religion, 
and sinners came home like doves to their windows, 
before the impending storm. Two wags in the village 
met in the village bar room and made a bet. Says 
Tom to John, to-morrow is the day appointed to hear 
the testimony of the converts, and receive them inot 
the Church, and I will bet you ten dollars that I can 
make up, an experience, and receive the right hand 
of fellowship. The bet was taken and the money 
deposited in the hands of the landlord, with a strict 
injunction to secrecy. Each, of course, as they 
walked off, took between their teeth a long nine. Tom 
succeeded in writing a charming experience, extract- 
ing it from that of some saint who had gone home to 
rest. The day of trial arrived. One convert after 
another related their experience and were received 
into the Church. Tom's turn came ; he read his charm- 
ing production, an.d was about to be received, when 
an old mother in Israel arose and said that he had 
been telling the experience of some other man, that 
there was no God in the sound. The plot was discov- 
ered, and he was cast out with dogs and sorcerers. 



80 Breaking the Tables. 

Alas ! how many such slippery frogs hop into the gos- 
pel net, a curse to themselves and the Church. Know 
you not, says Paul, that the saints shall judge the 
world? Let the grave yard of the world receive the 
dead ; the Church only living persons. Amen ! 

But where are Moses and Joshua ? We have wan- 
dered quite a distance from them in our cogitations. 
They are now in the midst of the camp. Moses in 
his holy indignation had broken in pieces the tables 
of stone. Aaron, the preacher, and the whole con- 
gregation, had backslidden. They were worshipping 
a golden calf, and it was the noise of their ungodly 
revelry that the two men heard as they came down 
the mountain. Alas ! what a change ! How soon 
has the fine gold become dim ! The Devil has made 
fools of Aaron and the entire Church. They have for- 
saken the God of their salvation, have made a molten 
image, and as they engage in their impious songs and 
dances they say, " These be thy Gods, O Israel, which 
have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." It 
was this marvelous impiety that caused God's anger 
to wax hot, and kindled the intense anger of Moses. 
It is said "by Jeremy Taylor, when speaking of ex 
tremes in joy or sorrow, that Isaiah was at a certain 
time so filled with extatic joy, that he could not re- 
ceive a message from God, until he had been soothed 



Golden Calf Destroyed. 81 

with singing ; and that Moses in rebuking Aaron for 
breaking one command, broke ten himself. Moses 
now seizes the golden calf, made out of the jewels ta- 
ken from the ears and fingers of the worshippers, 
grinds it into powder, then throws it into the brook 
and command's every rebellious backslider to get down 
upon his knees and drink, just as sinners now-a-days 
are called to the mourner's bench. 

But, says one, what a waste of gold ! Better for 
you, dear brother or sister, that your gold should be 
sunk in the sea, than that you should keep it to in- 
flame 3'our pride. But we have a quill seasoning to 
write a book on the subject of wearing jewelry, and 
other extravagances, and so will pass by the matter for 
the present. 

But before we leave Mount Sinai we should say a 
word or two concerning this dancins: business. The 
dancing on the banks of the Red Sea, and at the foot 
of Sinai are as unlike as hell and heaven. On one 
God smiled, on the other he frowned. Impious idol- 
aters and midnight revelers are not in the order of 
God. Their laughter i*s like offensive odors to Gocl. 
Ah ! these should mourn instead of laughing. They 
should kneel in sorrow and penitence, instead of dan- 
cing. What would you think of persons under sen- 
tence of death, with a cap drawn over their faces, to 



82 Dancing. 

see them capering about like the wild mountain goat, 
while the Sheriff has his foot on the spring to let the 
platform fall when the appointed hour comes ? Will 
you say this is a time to dance? And what shall we 
say of those who follow the music of the violin through 
the hours of night, on the platform of destruction, 
riches or enjoyment, with the black cap of unbelief 
drawn over their eyes, while death has his foot on the 
spring of time, awaiting orders to cast the body in the 
grave, and launch the soul into eternity. And what 
shall we say of dancing professors, who, as Bishop 
Hedding once remarked, kick up their heels as if the 
Devil was in them ? They are like Israel, whom God 
will make drink the bitterness of their folly. And 
what think you of the minister who will join his flock 
in the giddy dance, and on the next Sabbath ridicule 
the Spirit's manifestations at camp and revival meet- 
ings? He can dance to the music of the fiddle aL 
night, but not a moment to the delightful melody of 
religious joy. Blind leaders of the blind! Save 
them Lord, before they lead their flocks into the pit. 
Amen ! 



CHAPTER ELEVENTH. 



(Srapw anlr f «piratii 



Notwithstanding our long delay on the aeso.ate 
plain at the base of Sinai, and the time we have bad 
with the backslider, yon still hold ns by the sleeve, 
and insist upon some apology for Moses breaking the 
two tables, on which God had with his own finger 
written his law. How can one professing entire ho- 
liness, and coming forth from the immediate presence 
of God, with his face shining with heavenly light, in 
one hour after, dash to pieces the sacred tables, with 
W seeming vengeance and wrath? We answer, this is 
perfectly consistent with true Godliness. Just in pro- 
portion to our love to God, will be our hatred to sin. 
Because " thou hast loved righteousness and hated in- 
iquity ; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed 
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." And 
again : " This thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of 



84 Moses' Anger Justified. 

the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." But Moses knit 
his brows, and his radiant face was quickly tarried in- 
to a thunder-cloud. Amen ! to that. Nothing puri- 
fies the air like thunder and lightning. And it is God- 
like to manifest hatred and a holy vengeance toward 
the enemy" of all good. The record establishes this 
position. The Lord said to Moses, " I have seen this 
people and behold it is a stiff necked people. Now, 
therefore, let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot 
against them and that I may consume them, and 1 
will make of thee a great nation." But now follows 
the proof that Moses was meek and loving, if his an- 
ger did flame out against Israel's wickedness. He re- 
fused the honors that God would have conferred upon 
him, and plead for those whose sins had angered him. 
He binds the hands of Omnipotence with his own 
promises. He held the covenant of God to Israel as 
a shield over the head of a backslidden priest and 
people. By his importunate prayers the Divine wrath 
was appeased, the sun was brought from under the 
cloud that had concealed it. Here is the type of a 
Christian man. He loved the sinner, but hated the 
sin. This is the kind of men for service. Had Mo- 
ses backslidden with the rest, the tables of stone would 
not have been broken, but all would have gone on in 
their wicked worship, and their unhallowed shouts 



Moses' Anger Justified. 85 

and songs, deceiving and being deceived, until they 
had gone quick down into hell. 

Oh ! that every evangelical preacher, and class- 
leader, might breathe this holy vengeance Fashion- 
able idolatry would then be as secure in the Church 
as Pharisees in heaven. The professor of religion 
would now turn pale and feel insulted if asked to wor- 
ship a golden calf; but let the idol be moulded into a 
modern popular fashion, and willing votaries will not 
be wanting. This fashionable idolatry is a sovereign 
remedy against shouting or loud halleluias. None 
fall under the power of Goi who worship at its shrine. 
It knows nothing of either battles or victory. A 
Church of such idolaters may be peacefully united, 
but the union is that of icebergs frozen together, float- 
ing with the current, whose only light is the Aurora 
Borealis. Such a Church never does any good ; it has 
not the power. It cannot get angry at sin, and hence 
can make no headway against sin. 

But anger is one thing, such anger as the world 
knows, and holy anger, such as flames in the Chris- 
tian soul, is another. One is set on fire of hell ; the 
flame of the other is caught from the burning throne 
of God. Sinner, Moses' anger only broke the stone 
tables ; your anger breaks the law written on them. 

A^;ain we see Moses on the mountain. The tables 



86 Moses' Anger Justified. 

are restored. And now he is hid in a cleft of the rock, 
and in answer to his prayer God is making his glory 
pass before him. Glory to God ! what a sacred spot. 
The Christian's life is hid in the cleft rock, and he is 
safely shielded by his Father's hand. 

And now the pillar, the symbol of Divine presence, 
begins to more. The camp must now be broken up, 
and a new locality selected. But before we begin the 
journey we will attend family worship. Moses 
and Aaron are gathering the congregation together 
around the tabernacle. Th^sacrifice is laid upon the 
altar. Moses leads in prayer — spreads out his hands 
unto the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, unto the 
God that always answers by fire ; and there came out 
a fire from before the Lord and consumed the offering. 
When the people saw it, they shouted and fell upon 
their faces. Here were the first fruits of a revival of 
* a backslidden Church. Here is a remarkable season 
of worship. There was the sacrifice, the prayer, the 
fire, the shout of triumph, and the fall under the 
weight of glory that rolled over the vast assembly. 
The wilds of Arabia ne7er heard such shouts before, 
nor witnessed such a manifestation of Divine power 
as that prostrated assembly exhibited. Here was a 
family altar worth coming to. Here was a spot to 
warn frozen hearts ; thaw out icebergs ; sanctify 



Dedication of the Tabernacle. 87 

preachers ; to change class drivers into class leaders ; 
a place for the soul to take breakfast on fat things full 
of marrow, and wine on the lees well refined. Here, 
too, was a dedication of the new tabernacle ; and here, 
dear reader, let us consecrate all our redeemed pow- 
ers to God, and start with renewed vigor for the prom- 
ised land. And now the cloud settles -down, and says, 
pitch here in the wilderness of Paran. 

From this sacred spot, twelve men, one from each 
tribe, were sent over to spy out the land, and brin^ 
back a report to the army. The majority on their re- 
turn, ten of the twelve, reported as follows: that the 
country was filled with giants, that they were as grass- 
hoppers in their presence, and that the soil was sterile. 
They returned without a single grape or pomegranate. 
This discouraging report almost caused the congrega- 
tion to backslide again, and had not Caleb and Josh- 
ua been permitted to bring in a minority report, eve- 
ry soul would have backslidden, and left their bones 
in the wilderness. The two spies returned with a fulL 
ness of the blessing. They staggered under the load 
of grapes and pomegranates they had gathered on the 
banks of the brook Eschol ; and while their report 
was being read, the fruits they had brought were 
pressed to the lips of the congregation. The effect 
was marvelous. Sorrow was turned into rejoicing. 



S3 Majority and Minority IthroxT. 

And as they further reported, that the land flowed 
with milk and honey, and that in the name of the 
Lord they were able to go up and possess it, there was 
a volley of hearty Amens, and now and then a Glory 
to God. O ! may the Church ever be filled with Ca- 
lebs and Joshuas, to cheer the Church with good re- 
ports, and lead on to victory. O, for a faith that turns 
giants to grasshoppers ; a faith that breaks the green 
boughs from the trees of Paradise, and feeds the soul 
with ambrosial fruit. 

Reader, were you ever at the Straits of Gibraltar? 
There they have pilots waiting to conduct the ship 
along the dangerous channel into the broad blue s-ea. 
Here comes one on board and proposes to pilot us 
through. We ask him if he is acquainted with the 
channel, if he has ever been through it himself? If 
he says no, but that he has a chart which marks out 
the proper course, we dismiss him at once ; and look 
for a person who not only has a chart, but who knows 
by experience its truthfulness. Such pilots were Ca- 
leb and Joshua, and such should be every minister of 
Christ. Who can describe the beauty and the rich- 
ness of the vineyards and corn fields of the spiritual 
Canaan if he has never seen and enjoyed them? 
When the ministers of Christ know the joys of per- 
fected holiness, then will be sung, "How beautiful 



Experienced Pilots. 89 

are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of great 
•joy." Shouts of victory would be heard in Israel's 
camp. Flocks fed by such shepherds would be like 
Bunyan's pilgrims, who talked and sung in their 
sleep about tne better land, by reason of the juice 
of the grape that stuck to their Tips. 



CHAPTEE TWELFTH. 



% Smitten godi. 



There is no standing still in religion, and there was 
no standing still in the march of the Israelites. We 
merely touch at different points to take in wood and 
water, get fired up, and take in and let out passen- 
gers. We got well fired up this morning while at the 
family altar of Moses and Aaron, and had a first-rate 
shout as we crowded our omers full of manna. The 
glory fell upon us, and, thank the Lord ! we feel the 
sacred flame barning now. But the manna, we per- 
ceive, is nearly gone, as we have used it for a lunch- 
eon by the way, for ourselves and children, and now 
and then a Hobab that turns in with us to swell our 
numbers. Our water is getting low, so we will bring 
up under Iloreb, at the old rock, get a fresh supply of 
manna and water, and start on again with new vigor. 

Here we are, snugly encamped again. Glory to 



Tkial of Faith. 91 

God ! we are nearer than when we first believed. 
But you say this is but a dry, desert place. It is, 
surely ; but has not the cloud rested here, the same 
cloud that stood between us and Pharoah, as we came 
out of Egypt? Has the triumphant shout on the 
banks of the sea been forgotten ? Has not God prom • 
ised that he will neither forget nor forsake his people ? 
Begone quarreling unbelief ! Here is to be a trial of 
faith. All are in heaviness through manifold temp- 
tations. Alas ! another night of weeping. "What 
will not a day bring forth ! As far as the eye can 
reach, nothing but barren sand heaps. There is not 
a drop of dew to moisten the thirsty tongues, or a 
green blade to relieve the desolation of the scene, or 
a single green leaf to flutter in the burning sun. 
Nothing but the soul of a Pharisee could present a 
more desolate scene than that which carried dismay 
to the hearts of the children of Israel. Hark ! A 
hund.xd thousand tiny voices cry for water, which 
the mothers cannot supply. The fathers and young 
men take their spades and dig here and there ; but all 
is dry as an ash heap. And now all join in the cry 
for water : and, mingling with the cries of the multi- 
tude, are heard without the camp, the bleating of 
sheep, and the bellowing of cattle. " Give us water 
or we die." The spades are hung up in despair. Al- 



92 Prospect of a Kevival. 

though, their God was glorious in holiness doing won- 
ders, they were expecting death in that desolate place. 
Their digging in the sand was just like persons pray- 
ing to God yet regarding iniquity in their hearts 
Such prayers cannot find the sweet waters of salva- 
tion. 

Here is a good prospect for a revival. There is no 
shouting, seemingly not a victor in the whole camp ; 
yet their mourning and weeping, and their ardent 
supplications, are enough to break the adamant. Mo- 
ses sets out the mourner's bench, and all come for- 
ward to lay hold of the promise; ''If We confess our 
sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and 
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Ah ! say 
they to Moses, we hare sinned against God, have 
murmured against thee, but pray for us, Moses. How 
many a sinner has uttered the same request. When 
their souls have been parched for the water of life, 
they cried to the Church, pray for us. And how ea 
gerly and cheerfully does the sanctified soul bend the 
knee, and, like Moses, beseech God to spare and save 
the sinner — to put out the consuming fires of sin in 
the heart, by pouring in the waters of salvation. 

Moses has been before God in the tabernacle, and 
has prevailed. As he comes forth with the Elders, 
all eyes are fixed upon him. There is breathless s> 



Watee feom the Rock. 93 

lence. It is a case of life or death with them. ~N"ow 
he climbs an old granite rock, that had stood unmov- 
ed, since the sons of God shouted for joy at the birth 
of the world's creation. Cold-blooded philosopher, 
or skeptic, if we had whispered in your ear that in 
a few minutes water would flow from that rock like a 
living stream, you would have said, fanaticism, both 
Moses and yourself are fools. The preaching of the 
cross is to them that perish, foolishness ; but unto 
those that are saved, the power of God. Moses draws 
back the rod, —it was the same that he picked up on 
the mountains of Midian, which was changed to a ser- 
pent, then back again into a dry rod — the rod with 
which he worked the wonders in Egypt and stretched 
over the sea, making a highway through which the 
people passed. No minister has any business in the 
desk without the rod of faith, without which he can- 
not draw water for his congregation. The rod now 
touches the rock, and water gushes out, and flows in 
limpid streams, through the whole encampment. 
Fathers and mothers take their pitchers, and soon they 
are full, pressed down, shaken together, and running 
over. They drink themselves, then press the vessels 
to the lips of their dying children, the flocks and 
herds are satisfied, and soon the parched ground be- 
comes a pool ? and the thirsty land springs of water. 



94 Hoisy "Revivals. 

Ho more crying is heard ; but the air is filled with 
the melodies and shouts of joyous hearts. "Blessed 
are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. " 
"Let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shomt 
from the tops of the mountains. Clap your hands all 
ye people, shout unto God with a shout of triumph." 
" For," says the apostle, " they did all eat the same 
spiritual meat, and did drink the same spiritual drink ; 
for t'hey drank from the rock which followed them, 
and that rock was Christ." 

Here, reader, is one of God 5 s revivals, and a noisy 
one k has been, too ; and allow Us to express our 
opinion that a true rcrival never occurred which was 
noiseless as the tomb. It has become a proverb, that 
God never has any still-born children. When rocks 
are blasted out of the mountain, with powder, there 
is a noise, and the mountain shakes ; and when goodly 
stones are blasted out of the mountains of sin for our 
spiritual temple, there will be noise of deep groan- 
ing, smiting of breasts, and the shoutings of true con* 
verts, When the rocky heart is touched and broken- 
by. the rod of saving faith 5 waters leap out from the 
garret windows of the new born sons of God, and 
overflow their sunny cheeks. A soul that starts for 
the kingdom with tears of penitence, and agonking 
prayers, and comes in with a shout of victory, will 



Koisy Eeyivals. 95 

Hot be a mere sponge in the church, which must be 
squeezed to get anything out of them ; they will be 
more like the war horse, who smelleth the battle afar 
off, and champs his bits with impatience to begin the 
conflict. His delight is the battle cry, and the rush, 
and collision of battle. May God fill the world with 
Christians, full of holy fire and energy* Amen ! 



CHAPTER THIRTEENTH. 



Wxmm to Sj0«t 



In every county and town there are magistrates set 
as watchmen on the walls, to guard the intertess and 
morals of the people. From these dignitaries the 
rum-seller receives his license, to deal out damnation 
by the gill, to fathers, husbands and children ; to 
break marriage ties and female heads and hearts ; to 
deluge whole families in bitter scalding tears, and 
then very mercifully hand over the bloated body to 
the sexton, and their families to the poor-master; to 
set whole towns on fire of hell, and pour floods of the 
liquid lava of damnation over all the land. Let the 
philanthropist remonstrate, and threaten to bring 
them to justice, and the response is a demon's laugh, 
and a license stuck into his face. 

And there is another class of persons in our land, 
who have license to do a more horrible business. 



Christian's Licence to Shout. 97 

Tliuy live in southern climes. They have license to 
hold, whip and starve slaves ; a license hatched out 
by CoDgress, and brooded under the wing of the Ex- 
ecutive of the Union ; a license to turn the image of 
God into a chattel ; a license which makes the mar- 
riage tie as fragile as a string of tow, and life as un- 
certain as a soap bubble in the air. Remonstrate 
with them, and they entrench themselves behind 
their constitutional rights, as Jackson behind the cot- 
ton bales at Xew Orleans. But what good will these 
licenses do them in the judgment day in the presence 
of the Xing of kings? Less than Adam's fig leaf 
apron did to him. 

But we have a license from the authorities of heav- 
en to sing and shout, which we intend to use through 
this little volume, and which we mean to poke in the' 
face of every pharisaical class leader or preacher 
whom Satan has employed to put the breaks on the 
wheels of the car of salvation. God has spoken by 
the mouth of Isaiah, (i let the inhabitants of the rock 
sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains." 
Who art thou who repliest against God ? It is God that 
justifieth. Where is the brazen faced Ajax that dare 
spike the artillery of heaven, or smother the shouts 
of the Christian victor ? It is the Devil's work to 
throw water on the fire, and he would long ago have 



88 When to Shout. 

quenched it had it not been for the omnipresent Je- 
sus, who casts on a sacred oil 5 which causes the flame 
to rise higher by throwing on water, a secret the 
Devil could never solve. 

Let us as Christians read carefully our license) and 
ascertain its boundaries and true meaning, The doc- 
tors say the great art of dealing out medicine, is to 
know when not to give it ; and it is important for 
the Christian to know when not to shout. There are 
periods of the Christian's life when a note of triumph 
would be disgraceful. The license gives the privil* 
ege only of shouting on the top of the mountains* 
Mark the plural number — mountains. The obstacles 
we meet, and have to overcome, in the Christian's 
life, are mountains. There is no mountain so vast 
out that faith, as a grain of mustard seed, may not 
cast it into the sea. Every victory over the world, the 
flesh and the Devil, — over death, hell, and the grave, 
is a mountain summit gained, where we may wave 
our palms of victory, clap our glad hands, and sing 
and shout our joys. But while we stand at the base 
of the mountain, shouting will not be in order. Poli- 
ticians never light their torches, form their proces- 
sions, and shout their loud Imzsahs, until they know 
they have gained the victory. A fighting cock will 
never clap his wings and crow until his antagonist 



When to Siiost. 09 

lays dead at his feet, or shows his while feather. But 
you may whip a goose a thousand times, and it will 
return to the flock exceedingly loquacious and claim 
the victory ; and none hut the geese, in or out of the 
church, clap their wings> and shout the victory, until 
the white feather of the enemy is seen. But we have 
many a season for shouting ; and what a shout we 
shall have, when the last enemy is conquered, on the 
top of the Mount of God. Halleluiah to God ! 

But behold the pillar of cloud. It is beginning to 
move. Strike your tents, O Israel, and prepare for 
another march. See that your canteens are well filled 
with water from the rock, and your haversacks well 
filled with manna. All things being parched, we will 
take one more drink from the rock, and then march 
on, singing as we go— - 

"Though some in the rear 

Preach up terror and fear, 

And complain of the trials they meet; 

Though giants before 

With great fury do roar, 

I'm determined I'll never retreat 

18 We are little, 'tis true, 

And our numbers are few, 

And the sons of old Anoch are tall \ 

While I sec a track 

I will never go back, 

But go on, to the risk of my all.' 1 



100 A Yictoky. — Moses 5 Funeral. 

But, hark! the trumpet sounds for war. Another 
battle to fight. Another mountain of difficulty tv 
surmount. Sihon and Og, with their armies, right 
in the king's highway, are comiug lorth to meet us, 
They swear we shall go no further towards the prom- 
ised land. But we draw the old Jerusalem blade and 
cut a swath through their ranks, gather up the spoils, 
and stand on the field of battle more than conquerors ; 
and now we throw up our tuscans, and with loud 
huzzahs, move on and encamp on the fair plains of 
Moab, at the base of Mount Pisgah. 

Here is another sacred mountain. On its summit 
the Lord gave Moses a glimpse of the promised land, 
then blowecl out the candle of his life, and gave him 
a secret but glorious burial. We cannot, of course 
give the particulars of his funeral, for we were not 
permitted to attend it, but we know that he died in 
full view of the promised Canaan. While death with 
his keen knife was cutting the cords that bound soul 
and body together, the bosom of God was his pillow ; 
and angels were there to fan his feverish brow with 
their wings, and to escort his spirit to the realms of 
glory. His was a glorious burial. How long the 
train of celestial chariots was that followed his body to 
the tomb we cannot tell ; but it is enough to know 
that the King of kings was present at his burial, to 
pronounce a benediction over his grave. 



CHAPTER FOURTEENTH. 



festng lurtom. 



Our days of mourning are now over. "We have 
w ] ed away our tears, taken off our crape, and now, 
under our new leader, Joshua, we will inarch down 
to the banks of the Jordan. " Jordan is a hard road 
to travel," is a song sung by the modern reveler ; and 
poor sinner, if you have not made our heavenly Josh- 
ua your leader, you will find it a harder road to travel 
than you imagine. When you stand in its chilling- 
waters to your knees, when your physician turns his 
back upon you, and says you must die, when your 
friends gather around you to wipe the cold death 
sweat from your brow, and say that no further earthly 
aid can be given, then you will feel the need of him 
you reject. If all the tears that have been shed at 
such times could be gathered together, a Genesareth 
would be filled to the brim. The sighs and groans 



102 Christian Triumph. 

that have been heard on the banks of the mystical 
Jordan, if they were united, would be like the burst- 
ing of a thousand volcanos. Here is no place for the 
unholy to shout. They have no song of triumph to 
sing. Never has an infidel, or an impenitent man, 
been known to shout on Jordan's banks. To them the 
way is dark. But it is the reverse to the christian. 
Suppose that all the saints who have crossed the river 
were gathered in one vast hospital, and all their shouts 
united as one shout, as they stand upon the brink and 
peep into heaven through the rent vail, we should 
have some idea of the songs and praises of the innu- 
merable throng, which were as the voice of many 
waters, and mighty thunderings. There is considera- 
ble noise this side of Jordan ; on the other side there 
is more. The dying saint, his spiritual hearing more 
acute as he approaches the verge, hears the melodies 
that come from glad hearts on the other shore. Hear 
the almost silent tongue. 

"The world recedes, it disappear?, 
Heaven opens on my eyes, 
My ears with sounds seraphic ring. 
Lend, lend jour wings, I mount, I fly, 
0, death, where is thy sting, 
0, grave, where is thy victory." 

The waves once passed, the song of Moses and the 
Lamb begins. Louder now sings the saint than ever. 



Honors from God. 103 

He lias reached a noisier world than earth. Kow 
what will you do, you with velvet ears and weak 
nerves ? You cannot take your hat or parasol as you 
now do and go out of the house, dropping your con- 
temptuous epithets as you pass through the throng of 
ungodly persons ; so you may as well take the cotton 
out of your ears ; and join the army and the song. 
And you had better be quick about it ; perhaps you 
have no time to spare. Jordan is near at hand ; near- 
er than you are aware. 

The army is already leaving Shittim, with orders to 
pitch tents on the banks of the river. Joshua now 
calls upon all to sanctify themselves, for to-morrow 
God will work wonders. Dear reader, if you are not 
sanctified this side Jordan you never will be at all. 
The Jordan is swelling its banks, for it is the time of 
harvest. There is no ferry boat, no suspension bridge 
made by human hands ; but a highway is to be made 
by Israel's wonder-working God. It is written, the 
unclean shall not pass over it. You were with us, in- 
fidel friends, and saw the honor conferred upon Mo- 
ses, as he stretched his rod over the Red Sea. making 
a highway for Israel ; we now invite you to see simi- 
lar honors conferred upon Joshua, his successor. If, 
after seeing these exhibitions of the power of God, 
you are not persuaded of the necessity of embracing 
his truth, we must leave you until the judgment. 



104 Mountain of Water. 

The twelve priests are already standing with their 
feet on the brink of the river, bearing upon their shoul- 
ders the ark of the covenant. Ah ! how wonderful 
the scene that now takes place. The liquid element 
rises like a mountain, its sides are perpendicular walls 
seemingly as firm as the rocks of Gibraltar. Back as 
far as the eye can reach, the waters rise ; yet the un- 
seen barriers keep back the accumulating waters, until 
Israel passed to his inheritance. Down stream, even 
to the Dead Sea, the river bed becomes dry, and yet 
the waters above are not allowed to wet even the soles 
of their feet. The ark rests in the middle of the riv- 
er, and not until its bearers reach the opposite bank, 
will the waters be permitted to flow. Each of the 
twelve bearers takes a stone upon his shoulders, to 
raise a memorial of this wonderful interposition of 
God, to be an everlasting remembrancer to the follow- 
ing generations ; having placed them upon the banks, 
within the promised dominions, they return, take up 
the ark, bring it to the shore, and set it down in the 
midst of the triumphant host. Jordan is now permit- 
ted to resume its flow, and the liquid mountain soon 
disappears. Glory to the God who doeth all things 
well. Our feet stand on the soil of the land of pro- 
mise. 

This second triumph may well be compared to what 



The Second Blessing. 105 

lias become a proverb in our Israel, the "second bles- 
sing." The deliverance from Egypt may be compared 
to a soul just emancipated from sin ; and the songs 
and dances of Miriam, to the joys they feel. " Be- 
ing j ustified by faith we have peace with God." From 
this point in religious experience all are required to 
advance. "Learn the first principles of the doctrine 
of Christ and go on to perfection." " Having these 
promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from 
all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holi- 
ness in the fear of God." In the spirit of the words 
quoted, the apostle Paul prays that his TTiessalonian 
brethren might be sanctified wholly, and be preserved 
blameless unto the coming of Jesus Christ. All that 
get safely out of Egypt are called, by the Apostle of 
the Gentiles, sanctified ; but to be sanctified wholly 
is what we mean by the second blessing. Holiness 
is not always, nor generally, perfected in the hearts 
of ti ue christians. 

The Church is now out of the wilderness. They 
have left milk, and begin to lay hold of strong meat. 
The manna has ceased, and they now live on the more 
substantial food of corn and wine. They have had 
battles all the way, and glorious victories. How child- 
like at times their winnings, their stumblings and fall- 
ings ; but soon we hear them shouting from the top 



106 Loss OF an Aemy. 

of the mountains. Their joys and sorrows were alter- 
nating. But now that they have attained the ML 
stature of men and women, in Christ Jesus, their 
doubtings are gone, and faith constantly lends its re- 
alizing light. Their hope so, gives place to their know 
so ; and it is know so all the time. 

But in looking over the census table, one solemn 
fact arrests attention. Of the six hundred thousand 
lighting men, who came out of the land of bondage, 
only two, Caleb and Joshua, were permitted to see 
fie^land of promise. They had fought valianuy. 
They had caused the blood of mighty armies to crim- 
son the plains of Arabia. But on the banks of tne 
Jordan, they met a single foe, which sent them back, 
and their bones were sepulchred in the wilderness. 
That foe was unbelief. Says the Apostle, "Take 
laeed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil 
heart of unbelief; lest a promise being left us of en- 
tering into rest, any should come short of it." 



CHAPTEK FIFTEENTH. 



$aIJ nl Imtjjff* 



What is this we now behold ? All the Levites are 
.n the slaughter yard making trumpets out of rams' 
horns, for the purpose of blowing down the walls of 
Jericho. The Lord had given the order of battle to 
Joshua. It was a strange one indeed. One of our 
American generals, if a little sceptical, would have 
lit his cigar and puffed the smoke in the face of the 
angel who served as aid-de-camp to the Lord, and call- 
ed him a fool. But Joshua, though a skillful officer, 
knew that spiritual weapons were more potest to pull 
down strongholds, than all the battering rams and oth- 
er engines of war invented and constructed by men. 
God was determined to have the glory to himself; 
and it is with this purpose that in all ages he chooses 
the weak things of the world to confound the mighty, 
things that are base to bring to naught those that are 
lifted up. Even in the nineteenth century he uses 



108 Marching around the Walls. 

crooked rams horns, jaw bones of asses, and ox-gads, 
to demolish the high walls that oppose the progress 
of his army, and pile up winrows of Philistines on 
the spiritual battle fields. 

The hour to march has come. The ark bearers have 
taken their stations. The Levites have their trumpets 
in their hands. Judah is in the van, with his lion 
floating in the breeze. And now comes the order — 
forward ! Six hundred thousand men, with steady, 
measured steps, make the earth tremble under their 
tread, and rend the heavens with their songs and the 
sound of their trumpets. Nothing can give us an ad- 
equate idea of such a scene, unless it be a Methodist 
Camp Meeting, where, thousands are singing and 
shouting. Ah ! what power is there in music. We 
read of two ministers whose songs at midnight shook 
a jail all to pieces. 

But the army has passed around the city, and is 
pitched again at Gilgal. No sign of a revival yet. 
They did not so much as mar the whitewash on the 
outside of the wall ; and some of the brethren thought 
that the time had not come for the revival to com- 
mence. But Joshua looked again to his orders, which 
read as follows : " I have given thee Jericho with its 
kings and mighty men." Its terms are unequivocal 
— the promise cannot be mistaken, and Joshua re- 
solves to proceed. 



Marching abound the Walls. 10D 

The second morning dawns. The brilliant oriental 
sun shines equally on the just and the unjust. And 
now the array starts off, in grand procession as before, 
the ark bringing up the rear, the music- sounding as 
sweetly as ever on the ear, and finally back they camo 
again to Gilgal, seemingly nothing done. Thus mat- 
ters continued until the seventh morning. Joshua 
now draws up his army, and says : " we are to march 
around the city seven times ; let every man be at his 
post, and at the word of command shout at the top 
of his voice, and let the priests give a long and loud 
blast with the trumpets." The enemies heard this cu- 
rious order, as they looked over the wall, and put their 
ears to the key-holes of the gates, and had a hearty 
laugh at the expense of the leader who read the ri- 
diculous order, and of the fools who were to obey it. 
Who ever heard of shouting a wall down \ and shout- 
ing down gates of brass which almost defy the artil- 
lery of heaven. Ah! infidels, you are just like the 
inhabitants of Jericho. You have laughed many a 
time while the minister has blown the gospel trumpet 
around the whited walla of your self-righteousness. 
Tou have ridiculed the Christian's mode of warfare. 
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the 
Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, neither can he 
know them, because they are only spiritually discern- 
ed ; but he that is spiritual judgeth all things. 



110 Rahab Saved. 

The final hour of the devoted city has come. But 
it cannot fall until the righteous in it are safe. The 
fire could not fall on Sodom until Lot had escaped ; 
and the walls of Jericho cannot fall until believing 
Rahab is secure. Do you see that scarlet thread sus- 
pended from a window ? There is Rahab 's dwelling, 
and that is the cord with which she let down the spies 
from the wall, whom she had concealed from the 
searching eyes of their enemies, under the flax. She 
shall not lose the reward of her kindness. And no 
person shall lose an ample reward, who gives even a 
cup of cold water to a child of God. Rahab's reward 
was the salvation of herself and household from the 
impending destruction. 

Joshua is now preparing to give the order to shout. 
The brethren and sisters are beginning to clear their 
throats, and the priests are getting the rams horns ad- 
j wsted to their sanctified lips. O ! what an awful mo- 
ment. Our hair begins to stand on end. Our blood 
is almost curdled in our veins. When Prof, Webster 
was hung in the jail yard in Cambridge, the adjacent 
buildings were covered with persons anxious to wit- 
ness the horrible scene ; and when the platform fell, 
and left him suspended between heaven and earth, 
females groaned, screamed, fainted and fell as men on 
the field of battle. But here is a scene a thousand 



Effective Shouting. Ill 

tihies more terrific. The inhabitants of a whole city 
are to perish. And let our anti-shout ing brethren 
and sisters stand with us on one of the high cliffs of 
Canaan, and witness the mighty power of the invisi- 
ble Spirit of God, called into exercise by the faith of 
God's chosen people. Hark! The awful command 
is given. A terrible blast of trumpets, and the shouts 
ot the army are heard. The mighty wall trembled 
like hypocritical Felix. Before the enemies had done 
mucking, they began to feel as obstinate sinners will 
when Gabriel shall blow. Again and again the trum- 
pets sound and. the people shout, and, as if upheaved 
by some mighty earthquake, the walls were thrown 
from their strong foundations; and the thundering 
crash, together with the cries of the terrified inhabi- 
tants, form a scene unparalleled except by the crash 
of worlds and the terrors of the judgment. 

This terrible victory of the Lord's army was the re- 
sult of faith. "By faith the walls of Jericho fell 
down, after they were compassed about seven days." 
And observe that it was a faith that developed itself 
in shouting. Faith, shouted out, overthrew the migh- 
ty walls. 

The number seven, so frequently occurring in the 
Bible, is not always to be understood literally. It 
signifies perfection. Xaaman dipped in Jordan seven 



112 The Number Seven. 

times and his purity was complete. Had he dipped 
but six times, the condition of his recovery would not 
have been met, but the seventh dipping perfected the 
performance. Christ once found a woman at the 
mourner's bench with seven devils in her, that is, she 
was perfectly devilish ; but he routed the whole of 
them and made her a perfect saint — a temple of the 
living God. When the army marched around the 
city seven times, a perfect victory was won. Six 
times around left the walls standing ; the seventh time 
perfected the conditions of the promised victory. Had 
Joshua adopted any other plan, one that seemed wi- 
ser in his own mind, the walls of Jericho might have 
been standing to-day. The foolishness of God is bet- 
ter than the wisdom of men. The preaching of the 
Cross, as the blowing of a ram's horn, is foolishness 
unto them that perish, but unto them that believe, the 
power of God. 

Sinner, the gospel trumpet is constantly sounding 
in your ears. It is for you to obey or disobey. But 
there is another trumpet, the seventh trumpet, yet to 
sound. It is now lying on a shelf, over the mercy- 
seat, which God is reserving for his own immaculate 
lips. And when the trump of God is heard the bub 
warks of the universe will fall. Then you must bow, 
with constraint and terror. You now complain of the 



Seventh TpwUmpet. 113 

houts of the army of God's people, but what will 
70U do when the midnight cry " Behold the bride- 
groom cometh" is heard, and when the universe shall 
)e filled with the collision of worlds, and the wailings 
>f the damned I 

Well, your humble author feels just like dropping 
lis pen and saying, hallelujah ! Eehold he cometh 
vith clouds, every eye shall see him ; yes, glory to 
3-od : the eyes of the blind man shall see him. Ah, 
what a vision, to see the descending Lord with his 
^orious train, for one who has seen nothing earth- 
y for the last seventeen years. We shall then have 
iyes as perfect as those of our readers. Glory to 
aod ! our eyes shall range over the extended plains, 
where shines an eternal day. And now we will close 
this chapter by singing. 

May our lamps be trimmed and burning, 

And our loins be girded round, 
Waiting for our Lord's returning, 

Longing for the welcome sound. 
Thus the Christian's life adorning, 

Never need we be afraid, 
Should he come at night or morning, 

Early dawn or evening shade. 



CHAPTEE SIXTEENTH. 



Jot Imxjw to lerrata* 



We liave now bid farewell to Gilgal and old Jor- 
dan, and have left Jericho in flames. We have passed ■ 
through many noisy scenes. Indeed, since we left 
the gates of Eden our ears have constantly been filled 
with the noise of sorrow or gladness. It is difficult to 
tell which has made the most noise, the mourners or 
the victors. The great difference between saints on 
earth and in heaven, is, that on earth they eat the 
lamb with bitter herbs, but in heaven they have the 
joys of the Lord, boundless and unmixed. But let us 
drink the cup our Father puts to our lips. Jesus 
says, drink ye all of it, I have extracted all the poi- 
son ; the bitter will not harm you, but work your per- 
fect cure ; the richest sweets, my choicest blessings, 
are at the bottom of the cup. We have in this life 
just joy enough to oil the wheels of our machinery. 



Swallow Holes. 115 

Joys come to the faithful arid light all around them, 
just as swallows light on the roof of the farmer's 
barn, desiring a place to enter and rear their young, 
and make all within and without cheerful with their 
music. When we were a boy, it was considered evi- 
dence of a mean man, to refuse to cut a swallow hole 
in the gable end of a barn to let the little songsters 
out and in. Here we may find the secret of so many 
professors of religion wearing gloomy faces. They do 
not open their .swallow holes ; in other words, as Da- 
vid says, they do not open their mouths wide that the 
Holy Ghost may fill them with joy and peace. If 
the young birds would not open their months, when 
the old one held the choice morsel over them, they 
must languish and die. A man who would starve in 
a bake shop, because he was too lazy or wilful to help 
himself, deserves to die. God has set a table for his 
people, in the presence of their enemies, laden with 
the luxuries of heaven ; and, reader, if you have suf- 
fered the Devil to give you the lock-jaw, or a man- 
fearing, or man-pleasing spirit to sew up your lips, 
you will languish and die, and go before your judge 
a self-murderer. 

Halloo ! The trumpet sounds again for war. The 
city of Ai is to be taken. It is sometimes thought that 
Christians, when wholly sanctified, can sell their 



116 Corn and Wine. — Shameful Defeat. 

swords, hang up their shields, and dispose of all their 
weapons of war ; but this is a sad delusion. If on the 
other side of Jordan you found enemies that made 
your cheek turn pale, you will find before you hoist 
the flag of freedom on the glittering spires of Jerusa- 
lem, giants a head and shoulders higher than any you 
have ever seen. Many a thief that would risk his life 
to steal your guineas would not touch your pennies ; 
and the adversary had rather cast down two such 
souls as Caleb and Joshua, than a whole battalion of 
milk-and-water professors. Such are too easily con- 
quered to make it an object for the Devil to trouble 
himself about them. The weak ones on the other 
side of Jordan were fed on manna, which is as milk 
to babes ; but in the land of Beulah the soldiers are 
fed with corn and wine. Fed with corn alone a man 
might live and be strong ; but it is the wine that puts 
the fight into him. These solids and fluids taken to- 
gether are like fire and powder ; coming in contact, 
they will report themselves, without troubling the 
minister to do it for them. 

But what now? A shameful defeat! Thirty-six 
of Joshua's men slain ! The rest are running for their 
lives to the camp ! God has refused to fight for them, 
and hence their discomfiture. And now comes on an 
investigation — a church trial. The money loving* 



Chujsch Trial. — Mouldy Bread. 11? 

Acban is tried, condemned, and executed. A wedge 
of gold and a fashionable garment are taken from be- 
fore the wheels of the cars, and now they roll rapidly 
along the track. The city is taken, blasted out of ex- 
istence, the spoils are gathered, and from the moun- 
tain top are heard the shouts of the victors. The sol- 
dier should not only conquer, but be more than con- 
queror — he should gain the victory, and enrich him- 
self with the spoils. Every time we lift the cross in 
Jesus' name, we find a guinea under it— we spoil Sa- 
tan of his possessions and are enriched with heavenly 
treasure. 

But here is a strange-looking company ! Bagged, 
with clouted shoes and mouldy bread. They want to 
*urn in with us, and finally they succeed in getting 
into the Church, and the covenant with Joshua and 
the princes, that they might be saved, is made before 
it is discovered that they are Gibeonites. The con- 
tract is sacredly observed, but they were made hew- 
ers of wood and drawers of water. Thus the Chris- 
tian should make the world, the flesh, and the Devil 
his servants, or the scaffolding, until the building is 
reared, and the cap stone is brought forth with shout- 
ings of grace, grace unto it. But we will be excused 
from eating this mouldy bread. God feeds Lis chil- 
dren, with fresh bread warm from the oven, well leav- 



118 At Jerusalem. 

ened with resurrection power. Christ has taught his 
disciples to pray for daily bread, fresh water and 
manna, and garments that wax not old ; but it is to be 
feared that there are too many Gibeonites with their 
old musty hopes, and threadbare professions. Says 
Beecher : "You might as well go to the catacombs of 
Egypt, and scrape up the dust of the mummies, and 
knead it into forms and bake them in your ovens, and 
call them men, and present them as citizens and teach- 
ers for our regard, as to bring old, time-worn institu- 
tions to serve the growth and living wants of to-day." 
S rich c 'H h members in a revival are like dead trees 
that have been blown over and have lodged in the 
branches of living trees ; and our entire Zion is now 
groaning to be delivered from such dead bodies. O I 
Lord, cleanse the net 

But we are forgetting our theme of battles and vic- 
tories,— we have almost got to preaching. So we 
will pack up our duds, and start along and make the 
next halt on the heights of Jerusalem. Well, here 
we are safely within the gates. But, alas ! what a 
scene of carnage we have witnessed — vast fields crim- 
soned with human blood. We saw, too, some won- 
derful things. The sun stood still over Gibeon, and 
the moon on the valley of Ajalon, waiting to see the 
triumph of Israel, so that the news could be carried to 



At Jerusalem. 119 

the antipodes. We have had a noisy trip, showing 
the truthfulness of the prophet's remark, that the bat- 
tle of the warrior is with confused noise and garments 
rolled in flame. 

And now that we are at Jerusalem, we will put up 
at one of the hotels, and rest and refresh ourselves af- 
ter so long a journey , and get ready to attend in the 
next chapter the celebration of the return of the ark 
to the chosen people* It was a sad day when the 
Philistines captured the ark and Israel lost the sa- 
cred depository of their law. God permitted this as 
chastisement for their sins. The sins of the sons of 
Eli the priest, were the scandal of the nation. They 
openly committed adultery before the congregation. 
Eli heard of it, but gave them only light reproof. God 
was displeased with such family government, and se- 
verely rebuked the indulgent old priest, and threat- 
ened the destruction of his house. In due time the 
Divine word was fulfilled ; the house of Eli was no 
more, and among the disasters that came upon the 
nation were the massacre of the army and loss of the 
ark. The glory of Israel had departed. The viola- 
tion of the law of God brings only disaster and dis= 
grace. But the ark is to be restored, and the people 
are to have a happy time over it 5 and now that w© 



120 At Jerusalem. 

have had our refreshments, and a bumper of the 
sparkling wine of the kingdom, we will take our rest 
and be ready for the celebration. 






CHAPTER SEVENTEENTH. 



% (Mtota itndbr a gtaer. 



It is true, as yon say, that we are getting along 

rather slowly on our way to the Gospel dispensation ; 

but we cannot pass without paying our regards to 

King David. We must pause and see the ark again 

resting under the overshadowing wings of the cheru- 

biins, and witness the joy that displaces the sorrows 

of Israel. We wish to leave the charge in the midst 

of a revival for the next preacher. We do not want 

him to hear the first thing the sickening, threadbare 

story, "I do not enjoy myself as well as I did before 

the ark departed." Instead of the chattering of bats 

and the peeping of moles, we want him to hear some 

of the old fashioned am ens and halleluiahs. We want 

to see every harp taken down from the willows, and 

Jerusalem made to resound with the songs and praises 

of victorious saints. 
6 



122. Why the Glory Departed. 

In the previous chapter we told you why the glory 
of Israel had departed— how the ark came to fall into 
an enemies' hand. We must now look up the sacred 
depository of the stone tables. We find it among the 
Philistines; but it is to them what Elijah was to the 
household of Ahab and Jezebel. They called him the 
troubler of Israel, just as every sanctified preacher or 
private member will be called by those whose deeds 
they reprove. The ark of the Lord troubled the idols 
of the Philistines, and, of course, the Philistines them- 
selves. Dagon, with the head and arms of a man and 
the body like a fish — like many gods of the nineteenth 
century, of an amphibious nature, whose votaries can 
live in or out of water. There are some professors of 
religion who can go to a ball room or gaming saloon 
and seem in their natural element, just as much as a 
bull-head in the pond, who, on the Sabbath, spread 
themselves in the broad aisles, take a high seat in the 
synagogue, and talk beautifully of the excellence of 
religion, and have a holy horror against shouting, fall- 
ing, and all peculiar religious exercises. But Dagon 
— he cannot stand while the ark is in his court upon 
his high pedestal. He falls to the floor, and his head 
is ignominiously broken off. Ah ! how terrible must 
have been the death struggle of the god of giants. 
He was something like a monster described by Dow. 



Head Religion. —Ark on a Cart. 123 

A neighbor asked him what he thought of a certain 
person's religion. He answered, that in his opinion 
it was entirely in his head : break off that and he 
would drop into hell. But, after all, it will be per- 
ceived that Dagon fell with the power. He was alone 
in the room with the ark of a God whose word is 
quick and powerful, and down he came ingloriously 
enough. May God upset all the Dagons of our land ! 
Amen ! 

But we must not delay. Our brethren and sisters 
at Bethlehem are on their knees praying for the ark 
t $ return speedily. Well, here it comes. The Phil- 
istines are glad to get rid of it. They have placed it 
in a cart, and hitched two new milch cows before it. 
and have started them off without a driver. Awa^ 
go the cows, leaving their darling calves behind , bel- 
lowing as they go, so as to attract the attention of all 
to the precious load they are drawing. Great was the 
joy of the Philistines as they saw the ark they so 
much feared move off: just as dead formalists at the 
present day rejoice to get rid of holy Christians, who 
are the lineal descendants of the Gergesenes who de- 
sired Jesus to depart from their coasts* But, says Je- 
SU3,. here are two of your neighbors saved from Satan's 
power. Oh, they reply, what a rush of swine and 
loss of property— your presence will ruin the country. 



124: Music, Marching and Dancing. 

But what is this we see ! Rev. Mr. Uzzah thought 
that the ark was going to tumble off the cart ; he put 
forth his hand to steady it, and God struck him dead 
as Dagon on the threshing floor. But why this fear- 
ful judgment? He had an epidemic that terminates 
suddenly fatal, and which has prevailed in every age. 
He was one of those wise, prudent professors that 
dare to meddle with God's private affairs. He was 
afraid that God could not stand alone, but would fall, 
and perhaps have his head broken off. How many 
are doing the same thing. When the ark enters the 
Church during an outpouring of the spirit, and some 
peculiar demonstrations appear, how many there are 
to put out their hands to steady matters, and like 
Uzzah they are struck spiritually dead. 

But what is this we now see and hear ? Thirty 
thousand chosen men with their white plumes waving 
in the gentle breezes, beckon us away. A thousand 
skilful players of every instrument of music, that art 
could produce makes the nerves of the body vibrate 
like a splinter on a rail in a winter's wind. David 
now orders the ark from the house of Obed Edom, 
where it had rested long enough to bless abundantly 
his household. Glory to God ! our hearts leap with 
joy as we see the face of Jehovah again set towards 
Jerusalem. The ark is borne upon the shoulders of 



Curtain Lecture. 125 

chosen ministers. The procession forms ; it marches 
forward six paces and then halts, while a sacrifice of 
praise and thanksgiving is offered for the glorious 
prespect ®f a revival. And now the march begins 
again. O ! listen to the loud sounding timbrels, the 
songs of praise mingled with hearty aniens and halle- 
luiahs, and the deafening shouts of the multitude. 
But what is king David doing? What part does he 
bear in the performance ? Is he dashing cold water 
on the sacred flame ? Is he putting out his hands to 
steady the ark? Is he wondering what his neighbors 
or his dear wife will say about it ? ISTo, Glory to God ! 
He danced with all his might before the ark. and 
eyen while his wife, Michal the daughter of Saul, 
was looking dashers at him from the windows of his 
palace. 

And now, in the tabernacle again, the ark rests be 
neath the cherubims. Salvation, like floods of milk 
and wine, inundate the city. The festivities over, the 
people are dispersed loaded with rich presents. And 
n*w David, who has been on Pisgah's top and in 
Mount Tabor's glory, is to walk on spear points and 
spikes in a sort of Gethsemane. He has been eating 
with joy unspeakable the roasted lamb, but now he is 
to have another course of bitter herbs. Fiery jave- 
lins, keen as lancets, are hurled at him, not by his 



126 Curtain Lecture. 

father in-law, but liis wife, who became sole heir of 
her sire's envy and malice. The lamps are all blown 
out, the servants are all enjoying "tired nature's 
sweet restorer," and all is as silent as a Quaker meet- 
ing. No, no, not quite. A certain lecture is going 
on. Michal's tea kettle had kept boiling ever since 
she saw David in the holy dance, and now it not only 
boils over into David's fires, but spouts out of the 
mouth into his face. How beautiful, she says sarcas- 
tically, for the king of Israel to unman himself in the 
eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the 
vain fellows shamefully uncovereth himself. O ! she 
says, how mortified I was to see you act so. Amen ! 
says David ; Lord mortify her more still — it is the on- 
ly pill that will save her proud soul; kill her pride 
dead, and from its death may there spring up the 
green blade of a meek and quiet spirit. David did 
not succumb to his proud wife ; he made no apology 
for his peculiar performances ; if he had God would 
have been ashamed of him, and his soul would 
have withered like the fig tree under the Savior's 
curse. He told her that he would apply still more 
of the same caustic, until all the proud flesh should 
be burnt off her scoffing heart, so that God's panacea 
could be effectually applied. Amen ! halleluiah ; 
let us stand up for Jesus and he will stand up for us 



Curtain Lecture.— Bell for Dinner. 127 

and give us an introduction to the flowers of his 
court. 

Thousands in modern times know how to sympa- 
thize with David. AEany a person has danced and 
shouted before the ark as it returned to Jerusalem, 
and then gone home to get a curtain lecture on the 
subject of improprieties in Church. But God is an- 
gry with these lecturers. He struck Uzzah dead, and 
Michal died childless. A mother's joy was never the 
lot of the daughter of Saul. Ministers or laymen who 
do as she did, will die spiritually, and die without 
bringing forth a son of the King. Better that a mill- 
stone were hanged about the neck and persons sunk 
to the depths of the sea to lie alongside of the tele- 
graphic cable, than to despise the* demonstrations of 
religious joy occasionally seen at our Jerusalems. 

And now that we have tarried with David as long 
as time will permit, we will just pass along down to 
the time of Solomon. Well, here we are at the depot. 
But what is this confused noise ? The bell is rin^im* 
for dinner, and the runners are crying at the top of 
their voices, " Come, for all things are now ready." 
As the Kentucky man would say, here is a right 
smart chance for a hungry man. 

Solomon is now at the zenith of his glory. He has 
a regiment of wive3 arrayed in oriental splendor, cov- 



128 Bell foe Dinner. 

ered with brilliant colors, sparkling gems, and filling 
the air with their perfumes. His table is surrounded, 
too, with a large train of princes and noblemen. 
Here, too, is the noise of battle, but altogether a one- 
sided affair. The knife and fork are the only warlike 
instruments used in the golden saloon, and they are 
used with marvelous effect. This is a war that gives 
Jfe instead of death, and there is a spiritual banquet 
that gives the highest kind of life. It beggars de- 
scription. Those who taste its sweets say, as the 
Queen of Sheba, that the half had not been told. The 
last entertainment of Solomon cannot compare with 
the feast that the King of kings sets before his chil- 
dren. E"one could sit at Solomon's table but those of 
illustrious birth, and at the table spread by the great- 
er than Solomon, none can sit unless they can trace 
their pedigree to the ancient of days, glorious in his 
apparel, and traveling in the greatness of his strength. 
And it is a glorious table to which the Father invites 
his children. Solomon had a few menials to wait 
upon his table, but the Father has myriads of swift- 
winged angels. And nothing is too good for the child 
of God. Fat things filled with marrow, with wine on 
the lees, are his repast. A good sister, the widow of a 
drunkard, stopped at the door of a t'hree story marble 
front. The occupant was a rich man ; himself and 



Widow's Crust. 129 

family fared sumptuously every day. A servant 
threw the poor woman a dry crust of bread from the 
back door, which she picked up, saying as she did 
it and thanked God for the blessing, " all this and 
heaven besides is mine ;" and tears flowed bountifully 
down her emaciated but joy-illumined cheeks. The 
rich man saw and heard. An arrow pierced him. 
He looked around upon his wealth and splendor, and 
said, "all this is mine and hell besides." Thank God*! 
the arrow stuck fast. The poor widow was called in, 
the mourners' bench was brought forward, the rich 
man asked the poor woman's prayers, he gave all for 
Christ, he got a free ticket for the banquet of heaven, 
the leaven spreading, soon the whole lump of the 
household was saved, and the woman found a home for 
the rest of her days, where all earthly comforts were 
afforded her. O, Lord, multiply the number of such 
cases. Amen ! Header, there are tickets to be had 
without money and without price. They can be had 
whenever applied for at the throne of grace. "Come, 
for all things are now ready." 



CHAPTER EIGHTEENTH. 



3WrailMng t\t ta|It 



We will now, for the sake of convenience on our 
journey, play Rip Yan Winkle again, wrap around 
us the cloak of forgetfulness, snuff up a little chloro- 
form, and lay down in sleepy hollow ; and after the 
lapse of three centuries, we will wake up, rub our 
eyes, and open the diary of olden times and see what 
changes it records. "Well, here we are, wide awake 
again. But what is this that has disturbed our slum- 
ber, and brought us so suddenly to our feet ? It is 
the sound of instrumental music, of singing, the loud 
lamentations of the hoary headed fathers and moth- 
ers of Israel, and the loud shouting of the young men 
and maidens. What a tremendous noise ! It is im- 
possible to distinguish the noise of shouting from that 
of weeping. Dear me, what a pity there is not a 
Church somewhere near, tnat adopts the exclusive 



Thikgs Changs. 131 

" still small voice" platform, for the accommodation 
of the nervous brethren and sisters. But had it not 
been for this noise, so afflictive to some, we should 
have slept on until Gabriel's trump shall have sound- 
ed ; and it needs some tremendous voice to awaken 
the sleeping sinner, so that the sounding of the last 
trump shall not find him unprepared. 

Ah ! what a wonderful change has been going on 
since we bade the queen of night adieu for a season, 
and resigned ourselves to our three century nap. 
Where is Solomon with his hundreds of wives and 
thousand concubines ! "Where are all the princes that 
sat at his richly laden, royal table ? They have be- 
come a banquet for worms. Solomon, so reads the 
diary of time, in summing up his life, so remarkable 
for wisdom, wealth and splendor, pronounces all 
things earthly but vanity. He fell from his glorious 
position. Wine and women were the cause of his 
downfall. Infamy crowned the head which had been 
wreathed with honors Divinely conferred. And Isra- 
el fell with their king. Divided and feeble, the peo- 
ple of the Lord were overcome and carried away cap- 
tives by the king of Babylon. But God sent forth 
Ezra, a revival preacher, like our modern Caughey, 
or Spurgeon, to reinstate the nation in their former 
privileges, and to rear the temple which had been de- 



Io2 Shouting akd ■ Wlepi.ng. — Bko. B's Remarks. 

stroyed. A glorious revival commenced, and a noisy 
one it was too ; and so are all true revivals in every 
age. A revival with no mourning, no music, no vic- 
tories and rejoicings, is a man made affair. When the 
Holy Ghost comes down there is a sound as of a migh- 
ty rushing wind, and the Church is in commotion at 
once. 

The walls were finally rebuilt, and the temple com- 
pleted. The temple was like a certain church edifice 
built in our own age. A Bro. P. told us he was invi- 
ted by a minister to step within the walls of a newly 
constructed church, to give it an. inspection, before the 
dedicatory services. Says the minister to Bro. P., 
.ook all around carefully, and if you see anything lack- 
ing in its adornments, please point it out; there is mo- 
ney enough on hand to supply what is wanting. ~Now 
Bro. P. was one of the old line preachers, and was al- 
ways enquiring after the old paths. He replied that 
he saw but one thing lacking, but that was so little 
regarded in modern times, he thought it not worth 
while to mention it. O, said the preacher, only name 
it, the money is on hand to procure it. Well, said 
Bro. P., if you could only get God to come into it, 
convert souls, and fill it with his glory, it would be 
complete. So with the second temple. It lacked the 
ark of the covenant, and the glorious Shekinah, which 
was the chief glory of the first temple. 



a ICHABOD." 133 

But why did the symbol of the Divine presence 
forsake the chosen people ? For the same reason that 
the Holy Spirit leaves those that quench His influences. 
A dough-faced old priest, as seen in a previous chap- 
ter, allowed his sons to commit adultery and other 
enormities even within the sacred courts of the Lord, 
and the result was the destruction of his family, the de- 
feat of Israel's army, and the loss of the ark. Israel, 
by a succession of sins, under different kings, finally 
brought upon themselves ruin. They were carried 
away captive by the king of Babylon, the walls of 
their city and the temple of their God were destroyed. 
The glory of Israel had indeed departed. The ark, 
overshadowed by cherubims, and the Shekinalywere 
forever lost. Thus when ministers and churches tole- 
rate sin, even popular sins, God will turn his back 
upon them, and leave them nothing but a name. You 
might as well attempt to get an amen from an Egyp- 
tian mummy as from them. " Ichabod" is written on 
pulpit and pew; their glory is gone. But while they 
are decorously silent, their enemies shout triumphant- 
ly. The Philistines shouted when Samson was shorn 
of his strength ; and devils shout when Christians are 
vanquished. 

Ah ! the noisy tumult in Pandemonium when our 
Supreme Judges overthrew the prohibitory law. How 



134: Triumph of the Wicked. 

horrible the drunken revelry, and how great the ma- 
lignant joy of the venders of damnation ! The re- 
gions of darkness rang with shouts as the liquid fire 
again began to flow over the land. God have mercy 
on the Judges. And now we ask, if devils may shout 
when the Christian is under, may he not shout when 
he comes out on top ? May we not join the songs and 
shouts that have aroused us from our sleep of three 
hundred years ? 



CHAPTEE NINETEENTH. 



gAtaM €\xi± 



In this chapter we are to take our leave of many 
of the Old Testament saints, many of them renowned 
in battle and victory, and brilliant as the sun, whom 
we have had to pass, for the want of time, with the 
mere tip of our beaver. They would, had we pro- 
longed our calls, made our book much noisier than it 
is ; but we wish to manifest as much tenderness to- 
wards our quiet and fearful readers as our "notes by 
the way" will admit, and beg our readers to remem- 
ber that we are no more responsible for the noise, than 
Ezekiel was for the rattling of the dry bones when he 
began to prophecy. And now as we design to make 
this chapter a kind of long link, the link that hitches 
the train to the locomotive, reaching from the birth 
of Christ to the day of Pentecost, when the cars of 
salvation left the depot and started for the new Jem- 



136 Backwards and Forwards. 

salem, we propose to review our course, go back to 
Eden, and then hop, skip, and jump from mountain 
top to mountain top, until we arrive where the Lamb's 
wife is looking through the lattice of her windows, 
beholding with joy her beloved leaping as a roebuck 
on the mountain of spices. 

Well, here we are again, in the bowers of Eden, 
where we heard the sons of God shouting for joy, and 
attended the wedding of Adam, who was introduced 
to his partner, and united with her after a brief court- 
ship. This union was the cap-sheaf of the joys of Eden. 
But we expect greater jo} r , and to hear louder shouts 
when the second Adam shall be married to his bride 
in the resurrection morning. 

Glory to God ! we are all dressed and have a card 
for the occasion. Amen ! halleluiah. But we must 
leave Eden, and come along down where the shaft of 
fire stood between us and our enemies, where the Red 
Sea parted, and where the triumphant songs were 
sung, and Miriam and the virgins had their grand 
quadrille. Onward we must go, not forgetting to 
drink of the sweetened waters of Marah, to eat some 
of the rich manna and to have a feast on the luxuri- 
ous quails, and without fail stop at the place where 
we attended family prayer and the sacred fire fell on 
the consecrated sacrifice. But here is a spot on the 



Waiting. 137 

sun. "We would oe glad to pass it over. It is the 
shameful backsliding of preacher and people, whose 
unhallowed shouts even now disgust us. But thank 
God they repented, their golden calf was ground to 
powder, they returned to the true God, and drank 
the waters that gushed from the rock, and again 
shouted from the top of the mountains. Those scenes 
never will pass from our memory, nor shall we ever 
forget the rolling back of Jordan's swelling flood, the 
loud shouts that caused the downfall of Jericho, the 
standing still of sun and moon, the brilliant victories 
of the Lord's army, the painful scene when God's ark 
was captured, and the joyful celebration when it was 
returned, nor the banquet with Solomon in his royal 
saloon. And now we drop our pen, fold our arms and 
wait for the advent of the Savior of the world, for 
we hear a voice whispering in our ears, the Lord 
whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even 
the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in. 
Saints of old were watching for the first, as many are 
watching for the second appearing. But where shall 
we look for him? In the palaces of the Csesar's ? 
Oh, no. In Bethlehem, little among the thousands 
of Judah. 

Look ! A strange, unearthly light ! It breaks forth 
and radiates as the eccentric comet. At midnight the 



138 Celestial Choir. 

shepherd boys are startled from their slumbers, and 
an angel comes to quiet their alarm, and prepare them 
for the announcement of the coming Christ. There 
was silence in heaven for half an hour, as the celestial 
orchestra left the golden streets to celebrate in the 
hearing of man the event of his coming. For miles 
around, the air is filled with silvery pinioned angels, 
and earth trembled as they sung, Glory to God in the 
highest, on earth peace, and good will to men. And 
then the announcement ! In the city of David a child 
is born, a son is given, who is Christ the Lord, ever to 
be called the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Mighty 
God, the Everlasting Father. How mysterious ! How 
can the eternal God, enthroned in glory, holding the 
sea in the hollow of his hand, and weighing the moun- 
tains in a balance, be at the same time a helpless in- 
fant? But so it is. He is our Joseph. As Joseph, 
through adversity and pain, reached the right hand of 
favor at the court of Egypt, to bring his brethren to 
the land of Goshen, Christ has, through humiliation 
and suffering, ascended to God's right hand to bring 
to the heavenly land the household of faith. 

But now behold another scene. Old Simeon, his 
locks like the snow, is on his way to prayer meeting 
The Holy Ghost has told him that he should not die 
until he had seen the Lord's Christ. Many times had 
lie gone to the temple and returned without seeing the 



Raptuke of Simeon. 139 

expected one, but his faith did not falter, and, rain or 
shine, his place in the temple was always occupied. 
Mother Anna and himself were always present at the 
appointed time of every meeting. And now a happy 
morning dawns on the faithful old man. Along comes 
Mary with the tender babe. As soon as Simeon sees 
it he detects the veiled Divinity, and knows that the 
Lord is come. He takes the child in his arms, he cares 
to live no longer, but in his raptures exclaims. " Xow 
Lord lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, accor- 
ding to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salva- 
tion, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of 
thy people Israel." Loud were Simeon's praises, and 
louder ought ours to be. We have a Savior that can 
be felt if not seen. If we cannot hold him in our 
arms, we may have him formed within us the hope of 
gloiy. He has risen from the tomb, ascended on high 
and now waits to come suddenly to every heart-temple 
that bids him enter. On his golden girdle there are 
hung two keys, one to unlock our moral prison and 
set our ransomed souls at liberty, the other to unlock 
the grave in the resurrection morning, when all shall 
rise; and the saints soar up to meet the Lord with 
shouts and songs. When it was told to Jacob that 
Joseph, his son, was alive, he fainted — that is he fell 
under the power of his joyous feeling ; so now the 



140 Heavenly Joseph. — Living Redeemer. 

knowledge that our heavenly Joseph is alive, a fact 
revealed in the heart by the Spirit, often overcomes 
physical strength. How sad was Jacob for many 
years. How many tears he she I as he entered his 
closet and there saw the many-colored coat saturated 
as he supposed with the blood of the wearer ; jnst as 
many a mother has wept over the little shoes and 
dresses of her departed little ones. But Joseph is 
restored, and the fountain of tears and sorrow is dried 
up, and his barren heart is made as fruitful of joy as 
the vine-clad hills. How sad the disciples as they 
were going to Emmaus, supposing the Lord to be 
lost to them, but as the Savior conversed with them 
their hearts burned within them, and their joy wa* 
unspeakable when they discovered that it was the 
Savior himself who had conversed with them. So the 
Christian's heart burns within him. And here is the 
difference between a real and a formal Christian. One 
has a lively the other a dead hope. One shouts with 
joy, the heart of the other is cold and hard as a stone. 
One is in sympathy with the happy shouting ones in 
heaven, the other has more sympathy with a worldly, 
proud philosophy. The sun of righteousness shines 
upon the unbelieving soul, imparting not only light, 
but heat ; and let no man despise the heat, the warmth 
of feeling, the ardor of effort, the fervor of petition 
and praise so frequently seen and heard, for without 



"Watchword. 141 

these the Christian has not yet reached the Bible 
standard. 

But we must close the chapter. You see our bold- 
ness is increasing. We have the angels to endorse us. 
If they who have never been redeemed rejoice in 
songs and shouts, may not we who have been redeem- 
ed roll back the anthem of glory to God on high ? 
Dr. Payson, the Presbyterian, said he often wished for 
Gabriel's trump, to shout halleluiahs to the Lamb, 
glory to God on high. This is the language of heav- 
en. It is studied in the schools of the saints on earth: 
it is the battle-cry of the Lord's army, and it is the 
watch-word which will pass the saint safely over Jor- 
dan into the New Jerusalem. 



CHAPTER TWENTIETH. 



As the prophet Ezekiel waded up the river of life, 
he said the waters were but ankle deep. Continuing 
to stretch out his measuring line he soon found it over 
his knees. Hot satisfied wifh this he again stretched 
forth his line into the future and found the water up 
^o his waist. Onward, still, he moved, until he came 
to the broad bay where he could not touch bottom, 
and then cried, O, the depth of the riches of his grace. 
This bay mingles its waters with the shoreless, bound* 
less sea of eternal bliss. Amen 1 halleluiah ! This is 
the way young converts grow in grace ; if faithful, 
they wade along up the river into the broad bay of 
perfect love, the banks of which are buried by the 
ebbing tide of the ocean, and whose waters flow back 
in fervent praises to the Author of all good. They 
live so near the ocean itself, that they can hold sweet 



Wading. — The "Water Deepening. 143 

converse with the mariners of the grand Pacific.— 
Thus, also, dear reader, with ns, in onr journey. Leav- 
ing Eden, we found the water only ankle deep, nntil 
we came to the spot where the shepherds saw celestial 
glory, and the angels shouted, glory to God in the high- 
est, on earth peace, and good will toward man ; here 
we went in at once, knee deep ; but we are going on 
and expect to reach the ocean without a bottom or a 
shore. 

The water is deepening. It is above onr knees.«-« 
God grant that it may rise above those of our stiff* 
kneed, spavined professors, so that they may readily 
bend when David says, Let us kneel before the Lord. 
The waters of life are a sovereign remedy for stiff 
joints. On the banks of the river grow trees, the 
leaves of which never wither. Every lough is bend- 
ing with fruit unto holiness. The leaves, made into 
a poultice are for the healing of the nations. But to 
be effectual they must be applied to the wounds by 
°the hand of faith, and as hot as the patient can bear 
it. Servants of God, preachers of the Cross, warm up 
the poultices with the sacred lire, and bind them on 
the sinner with the bandnges of clear argument and 
t>re vailing prayer. 

But we must pass along, and look for the footprints 
of the illustrious person who was the mighty God and 



144: Seaech foe Jesus. 

yet a humble child. Here are Joseph and Mary com- 
ing, filled with anxiety, rapping at every door as they 
pass along, enquiring of the inmates of the houses if 
Jesus had been there. All are startled at the inquiry. 
Jesus ! say they, we do not know him, we are sure he 
has never entered our dwelling. And so they pass on 
from door to door, receiving similar replies. At last 
they rap at the right door, and find Jesus about his 
Father's business. He is in the temple disputing with 
the Pharisees. The very place, dear reader, where 
your humble author found him. Alter rapping at all 
the wrong places for six sad months, we at last found 
him in our earthly temple, disputing with the Phari- 
see within. But he soon cast him out ; and if Joseph 
and Mary were happy when they found Jesus in the 
temple, so were we filled with joy unspeakable and 
full of glory, and could sing, 

I've Jesus Christ within me, 

He's tu Tied the Devil out ; 
And when I feel the glory, 

It makes me sing and shout. 

We will pass along a few years. Do 3 t ou see that 
young man, of full stature, symmetrical form, and 
lamb-like countenance? He is making an ox-yoke. 
"We repeat to you, poor infidel, that he is the mighty 
God. He is our Savior. In his veins flow the crim- 



John the Baptist. 145 

son panacea for the sins of the race. There is no ill 
which flesh is heir to that it will not cure. But who 
is this we see standing on a rock near the banks of 
Jordan? All the highways and lanes from hill and 
valley are crowded with people, eager to hear him. 
All classes are there, from the ragamuffin to the mem- 
ber of the grand Sanhedrim, clothed in fine linen and 
royal purple. He holds his audience by the strong 
cords of eloquence. He is no modern dandy. No 
gold studs, beset with sparkling gems, glitter upon 
the bosom of his fine dicky, or well starched wrist- 
bands. He does not swing a gold headed cane, or 
cairy a gold watch attached to an expensive chain. 
He does not haul out the precious jewel to see how 
many minutes he shall preach, and to show it to his 
congregation. His college was among the rude rocks 
of the wilderness. His daily food was locusts and 
wild honey. His wardrobe consisted of a camel's 
hair surtout, with a leather strap for a girdle — morti- 
fying indeed to the upper tens of his audience,. But 
all are spell bound. This is John the Baptist, the fore- 
ran ner of the Lord, the greatest born of woman. His 
preaching was as plain as his garb. He even told 
some of his best paying members and pew holders 
that they were a generation of vipers, and had the 

boldness to ask them how they expected to escape the 

7 



146 Behold the Lamb. 

damnation of hell. At a subsequent time he was in- 
vited to take lodgings with one of royal blood, and 
had the audacity to charge the royal pair with adul- 
tery ; but it terminated with him as with all the square- 
toed, plain-spoken preachers, down to the present 
time ; the lips that had spoken so boldly were served 
up in a charger. The head of the oifensive preacher 
was more to the guilty queen than half a kingdom. 
But the guillotine is only the gate to glory to the 
faithfu.. 

But we see Jesus approaching, and as he advances, 
the pioneer preacher, standing on his rock platform, 
cries out, " Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away 
the sin of the world." Amen ! Halleluiah ! And 
now see his staff gathered around him— his cabinet 
council. Not one of them is from the Court of Csesar, 
not one from the illustrious Sanhedrim* They are 
poor illiterate fishermen. With this little army, with* 
out wealth or learning, battle-axe or bow, sword or 
shield, he is to take the world, and kennel his Satanic 
majesty in a hell of his own digging* As he goes the 
itinerant platform, traveling in the greatness of his 
strength, mighty to save, we propose to go round the 
circuit with him. And now, Infidel, if you will go 
with us and witness his wonderful acts, if you are not 
convinced that he is the mighty God, we must let you 



First Appointment.— Ten Lepers. 147 

go. One foot on the sea of depravity and tears, the 
other on the continent of eternity, he declares, " I am 
God, and there is none else." 

But what is this ? A card of invitation to a wed- 
ding ! Jesus and his mother and the apostles are 
among the honored guests. Well, here we are, all 
snugly seated, the Savior in our midst. He has not 
yet manifested his God»like power — has never per- 
formed a miracle. Thi3 is his first appointment on his 
circuit. Here stands six large water pots filled to the 
"brim with water ; we put our cups under the faucet 
and draw nothing but water, for the reason that there 
is nothing but water in the vessels. Let us cast the 
water away. ISTow we will draw again. Ont gushes 
the sparkling wine. The governor of the feast is as- 
tonished at its mildness and life. The order of things 
was reversed, and they had the best of the wine at the 
last of the feast. It was wine that would not produce 
headache or drunkenness, but give a joyous and vig- 
orous life. Water will slake thirst, but wine makes 
glad the heart, and puts the shout into a man. 

We turn from the wedding, and our ears are saluted 
with the loud cries of ten lepers. The Savior speaks 
and their leprosy is gone, and perfect health is restor- 
ed. How sudden, how wonderful the change! How 
soon their groanings turn to shouts of joy ! We move 



14:8 Blind Baetimeus. 

on. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands 
is increasing in magnitude and momentum. Another 
cry is heard. By the way-side sits blind Bartimeus. 
He has got some friendly hand to lead him out from 
his cabin to a seat on the king's highway, so that he 
may get something from some benevolent traveler. 
Several hours has he waited and received nothing. 
The winds shake his ragged mantle and chill him with 
their breath. Sad was the poor beggar's lot. His mo- 
ther had. often told him of the bright oriental sun, the 
silvery moon, the twinkling stars, the lovely green of 
the fragrant fields ; but he could not comprehend her. 
His mother once asked him what the color of blue 
was like, and he replied, like the sound of a trumpet. 
His ideas of nature were quite as correct as those of 
a blind scepticism respecting the religion of the heart. 
But after all the beggar had a rich legacy left him. 
His hearing was good ; and you know that faith corn- 
eth by bearing. We have often thought that we 
would not give our ears for the best pair of eyes in the 
world, and a good farm to boot. If we have a dime 
in our pocket we can hire a little boy. to lead us to the 
sanctuary of God ; but if we had the gold of Califor- 
nia we could not hire any one to heai for us. The 
five senses are like five lovely children gathered around 
the domestic hearth. Death rides up on his pale horse 



Blind Bartjmeus. .149 

and say 3, I mast take one of the little group. The 
parents have none to spare, and could not possibly 
choose which one to let go. It is so with our gifts. 
We scarcely know which could best be spared. 

Just see how, intently the beggar is listening. He 
hears the footsteps of a multitude. He is told that 
Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. Now, he says, is my 
time. The prophet Isaiah said that when he came, the 
blind should see. And now he cries aloud — at the 
top of his voice : " ! thou son of David, have mer- 
cy upon me." The Pharisees tried to stop him, but 
every time they tried to stop him he raised his voice 
an octave higher. His cries were quickly heard by 
the great Oculist, who gave the command for the 
battalion to halt. The mourner stumbled along until 
he got Jesus by the hand, who said tenderly what 
will thou have me to do. Oh, sings the mourner, re- 
move this grievous blindness. A single touch of the 
finger of the Physician, and light filled his soul. The 
beauties of nature were revealed to him, and his soul 
was filled with rapture. He left his ragged mantle 
and joined the army, and went on leaping and prais- 
ing God. 



CHAPTEE TWENTY-FIRST. 



JwMng % %m Wjowtux 



"Well, fellow Pilgrims, what do you think of the 
new preacher? You seem to be delighted with him, 
though not half round the circuit jet. You enjoyed 
the wedding party and partook freely of the wine. 
This wine is a sure remedy against croaking ; and if 
any wish to get rid of a croaking spirit, they must 
adopt a rum-drinker's maxim — to keep the spirits up, 
pour spirits down. If you had imbibed a little more 
freely you would not have been tried at the second 
appointment, when ten lepers were at the mourners' 
bench crying loudly for mercy, all at once. There 
was so much noise, you say, that you could not hear 
your own voice, when you undertook to pray for 
them ; and you were tried when the preacher in 
charge encouraged instead of putting them down. 
You thought it strange that he should seem pleased 



Bartimeus Noisy. 151 

amidst their loudest mailings. In a word the preach- 
er changed their sorrow to gladness, although at quite 
a distance ; and one of the cleansed — a weak brother, 
some would say — ran with all his might shouting glory 
to God, and dropped on his knees at the "Redeemer's 
feet, and offered the richest gift possessed by mortals 
—a heart overflowing with gratitude. This paid the 
doctor bill, and he received a receipt in full, written 
on a white stone ; also he received a warranty deed of 
an inheritance with the saints in light. Amen ! Hal- 
leluiah ! But while Jesus rejoices over the one con- 
vert as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, where, 
alas ! are the nine ? They are ingrates— poor back- 
sliders. Come, Christian, and offer your sacrifice of 
praise lest your leprosy return, and your state be 
worse than before. 

Blind Bartimeus, too, made a great deal of noise, 
notwithstanding the class leaders did all they could 
to stop him. He would not rest until he reached the 
spot where the great eye opener stood, who turned his 
darkness to a most marvelous light. But how much 
better, you say, it would have been if he had not 
jumped about in such a peculiar manner. Dear 
friend, if the light of the sun pouring into the eye just 
cured of blindness causes a man to leap for joy, why 
not leap for joy when the light of God illuminates 



152 Oct Door Meeting. 

every chamber of the soul? Even now, while writ- 
ing, our soul leaps for joy ; and we remember when 
body and soul has leaped with joy untold. Glory to 
God ! our divine oculist still lives. The first thing 
we expect to see is the King in his beauty, and we 
expect to leap with a glorified body from mountain 
top to mountain top in the realm of glory. Glory to 
God ! for the bright prospect. 

But we must hasten on to the next appointment, 
where we are to have a kind of camp meeting. Well, 
here we are, ten thousand of us in number, including 
men, women and children. From every quarter we 
see wheel -barrows, litters, vehicles of various sorts, 
conveying the maimed and the diseased. They are 
cast down all around the mercy seat. And now the 
brethren are down upon their knees praying that they 
may be healed. Look here, sceptic, and witness a 
manifestation of God's saving power. Three hundred 
cripples and sickly persons are at the mourners' bench. 
We tell you, as we have already told the mourners, 
that if they will only touch the hem of the Savior's 
garment, they shall be made perfectly sound. Now, 
see the suppliants approach. A poor cripple comes 
and touches his garments, throws his crutches away, 
and runs and leaps before the multitude. Now comes 
a blind man, and light pours into his soul and heav- 



Saving Power. — Multitude Fed. 153 

en's praises out of his mouth. Another comes, and 
the dumb devil is cast out, and his tongue sings the 
song of the redeemed. Thus all were made perfectly 
whole. Halleluiah to Jesus ! ISTo man-made revival 
this. But why would it not have been as well to 
have touched the garment in some other place besides 
the hem ? Is there not as much virtue in that part 
which rests upon the shoulders ? In one part of the 
seamless coat as another ? Yery likely. But the hem 
is down low, below the Savior's knees, and persons 
must humble themselves to touch it. It is pride that 
keeps the soul from God. You are healed while 
meekly kneeling upon your knees. 

Here we have been three days so absorbed in the 
revival that we have forgotten to eat and drink. Pe- 
ter proposed that the benediction be pronounced and 
the multitude be sent away to obtain refreshments ; 
but Jesus replied, widi a heavenly smile, I never sent 
my congregation away hungry and faint. There were 
but five loaves and two fishes for the whole multitude 
of ten thousand. Now, Unitarian friend, stand at 
our elbow. The person whom you call a mere man 
will so multiply and bless these few loaves and fishes 
that the whole multitude shall be fed, and a large 
surplus remain. All sat down in classes of fifty on 
the grass. The bread is brought forth. A blessing 



154: Christ King. 

is asked. The twelve apostles take their stand around 
the altar. Peter, foremost as usual, thought there 
would not be enough for the presiding elders and 
people. Nevertheless, all determined to do as direct- 
ed, and trust for the result. The bread is now bro- 
ken. Peter's basket is filled first ; and he takes a good 
bite himself, knowing that those who serve at the altar 
are also partakers of the gifts of the altar. So to 
twelve. 

You remember how thirsty we were at Mount 
Iloreb before the rock was smitten ; and now sits on 
the grass ten thousand crying, give us bread or we 
perish. Now is verified the promise, they that hun- 
ger and thirst shall be filled. The very same Jesus 
that caused ' water to run from the rock, is now here 
to bless and break the bread of natural life. Ah ! 
how wonderfully the bread multiplies. It must be 
leavened with resurrection power. All are filled. 
How contented and happy they appear. It is mar- 
velous what strength and activity has been given to 
their faith. Say they, is this not the prophet that was 
to come? And with one voice they were ready to 
make him king. But Jesus, knowing that his king- 
dom was not of this world, despised these honors, and 
fled to the mountain to pray. Well, Unitarian, what 
do you say to this bread manufactory ? If this is on- 



Marvelous Loaf. 155 

ly man's work what a blessing would the receipt for 
the manufacturing in this manner be to the poor of 
this world, who earn their bread by the sweat of their 
brow. 

But we have something more marvelous still to tell 
you. The whole Christian world, from Abel to the 
present, have been feeding on a single loaf; yet there 
is enough for each, enough for all, enough forever- 
more. Glory to God ! Evermore give us this bread. 
The loaf was broken on the rugged tree. Having 
been blessed of the Father, the ministers of Jesus 
have, for thousands of years, partaken largely of it, 
and distributed it to their several congregations, so 
that all were satisfied who were humble enough to sit 
down on the* grass and not too lazy to open their 
mouths, and to fill it with the bread taken by the 
hand of faith from the spiritual basket. All who are 
true believers, having been filled, acknowledge Christ 
as their sovereign, arid ever have in hand a basket of 
fragments, gathered up from the banquet of love, to 
give to their hungry neighbors. 



CHAPTEE TWENTY-SECOND. 



Cjjrat 0tt % Storms So. 



Our language is, arise let us go hence. The mas- 
ter, when he left, gave me orders to take ship and 
cross over the Sea of Galilee. It was a dark and fear- 
ful night. The storm king raised his windows high 
and began to amuse himself with the sleeping waters. 
None but a tempest tossed soul, whose fragile bark 
divides the white caps of tribulation, as it sails over 

a 

the sea of depravity and tears, could have an adequate 
conception of the horrors of that night. The wind 
blew a steady gale in our faces, determined to make 
us backslide if possible We reefed every sail. We 
laid hold of the oars of prayer and faith. When we 
got twenty-five or thirty furlongs the artillery of heav- 
en began to play with her seven thunders ; the fitful 
lightning shot out its forked, fiery tongues, revealing 
to us our watery grave, and a frightened sea gull 



Jesus on the Water. 157 

screamed our funeral dirge. Oh ! what a. moment — 
hope and despair alternating. Peter, bold Peter, was 
pale. To go back was death, to go forward could be 
no more. All hearts were as agitated as the elements. 
]N"ow follows a scene that caps the climax. They 
behold, as they suppose, a ghost walking on the liquid 
element as if it was a marble walk. Sceptics now 
stand with us on the deck. When the stars all disap- 
pear, every eye is turned eastward, looking for the 
rising sun ; so when every star of hope is blown out, 
and the tempest tossed soul is about to give up the 
ship, then is the time to look for the approach of the 
king of Salem, a present help in trouble. He is now 
within a stone's throw of the ship. lie speaks with 
a voice like a silver trumpet, which falls sweetly on 
the fearful mariner, " It is I, be not afraid." To put 
the matter beyond doubt, Peter says, Lord if it be 
thee, bid me come unto thee. Jesus tossed back the 
command to come. Let us hold here a moment, and 
see the exercise of holy trust. Peter prepares, at the 
word, to leap oif the ship. His brethren held him by 
the skirt, and reproved his rashness, gave him a lec- 
ture on philosophy, reasoning very clearly that a 
man of his weight must surely sink, and that he would 
doubtless soon be devoured by sharks. But Peter re- 
plies, do you not believe the person standing there to 



158 Sinking and Rising. 

be Jesus, the mighty God ? No doubt of that, all ex- 
claimed. Did you not, says Peter, hear him command 
me to come to him ? Most certainly, all reply. Do 
you believe him, continues Peter, to be a merciful 
God and Savior ? All reply, surely he hath so prov- 
ed himself in numberless instances. Well, says Peter, 
would a merciful prince command an act without giv- 
ing ability to perform it ? Every mouth is stopped. 
Peter is determined to honor God by faith in his word. 
And now he walks boldly down on the crest of the 
billow, his eye, like the magnetic needle, pointing to 
the star of Bethlehem. But alas ! poor Peter had his 
besetment too. He thought to try the experiment on 
his ©wn hook, and the first he knew he was sinking. 
But he saw his danger in time, and cried, Lord save 
or I perish. In a moment he was lifted above the 
waves by an omnipotent arm, the Master rebuked him 
for turning his eye from him to the waves which ter- 
rified him, and then they locked arms and walked over 
the waves to the ship. And now, says Jesus to Bore- 
as, shut down thy windows, and all was calm ; the 
sea, like a mirror, reflecting the loveliness of moon 
and stars ; and soon they were in the desired haven. 

Similar to this is the expression of young converts, 
or of a soul in a more justified relation to God. They 
walk erect in the waters of tribulation, until a new 



Faith Steongeb. 159 

and peculiar trial comes ; then they turn their eyes 
from Jesus to the trial, and down they go ; then they 
cry, Lord save or I perish, and they rejoice that Jesus 
walks on the wave. But we show you a more excel- 
lent way. Yon recollect, on a subsequent occasion, 
they took Jesus along with them as they entered the 
ship, and when the waves began to roll upon their 
deck, they ceased from their own works, stepped down 
into the cabin and awoke him who holdeth the sea in 
the hollow of his hand, and he rebuked the winds and 
the waves, and there was a great calm. A soul sanc- 
tified, is blessed with an in-dwelling Savior. lie walks 
with God, having the abiding testimony that he is 
pleased. Such a man goes through life without na- 
ture's pumps for water, for he has a well of living wa- 
ter within him. IN" either is he dependent on any earth- 
ly brush-heap to warm him, for he has a sacred flame 
ever blazing on the altar of his heart. 

"Well, here we are, snugly moored in the harbor of 
grace. Not a shout, or a halleluiah, since we took 
shipping. But our faith has been wonderfully increas- 
ed as we have passed through much tribulation. Wo 
believe, more strongly than ever, that Jesus is God 
manifest in the flesh. This has resulted from our de- 
liverance from a watery grave, also from the breaking 
of the breal to the multitude, and from the cripple 



160 A Question. 

revival, when new legs, and arms, and eyes, were giv- 
en by a single touch. We saw them leap and shout, 
and exclaimed, after all, the poor are among the bles- 
sed of earth. They are the only class that will beg 
for a ride in Jesus' chariot of mercy, which is lined 
with crimson, and whose only ornament is a malefac- 
tor's cross. If the God of all grace had raised his 
gates as high as the princes of this world do theirs, 
the upper tens would enter in ; but they are so low 
that all have to get down on their knees like beggars, 
and the gate is just wide enough to squeeze in soul 
and bcdy. All sin, however sweet, must be laid off 
outside the gate. Glory to God for that. Nothing 
can enter the pearly gates that is defiled with sin. 
Amen ! Halleluiah. 

But why has there not been as much shouting as 
on other occasions? Let us remember that three 
things are necessary to make a heaven in the soul, 
namely: righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy 
Ghost. We had the blessing of righteousness at the 
breaking of the bread, on the sea we had the blessing 
of peace, neither of which blessings are impregnated 
with a noisy element. Tp shout, under such circum- 
stances, would be hypocritical and displeasing to God. 
But when joy in the Holy Ghost enters the soul, with 
its luminous flambeau, then the spark is touched to 
the powder. This is the noisy wine of the kingdom. 



Pbacs i:::i i : _: , 161 

An old mother in* Israel as • m hei - 

eves flashing with holy fire, and the banks of her 

cheeks overflowing with tears >f joy, began :: tell 

her experience — how thin.- were sixty year? 
when the Lord converted her soul, and a few years i :.:- 
terwards, when God gave her the blessing of perfect 
Sometimes, says she, I have a laughing bless- 
ing, then I laugh : sometimes a cry::;_ ". ;iessi:: = \ :hea 
I cry; sometimes a shouting blessing, then I shout ; 
but this morning. Glory to God ! I have all :h: :- :- 
once. So she riave:i before the King hi the three 
stringed harp. 

Oh, what a blessing is peace to a nation, after a 
cruel, bloody war. I: is wha: "::: :-aim is m a 
tempest tossed mariner. It is 1M ary's blessing while 
washing the feet of Jesus with tears :: gratitude and 
love. God says, the peace of the man that i : ~rs him 
shall h:~ like a river; and if ours is not such i: is 
because its springs are nor in Zi:n — because its sour- 
ces are lowlands and marshes, n : : the :: nntaine of the 
holy hills. True peace is no: like a shower, falling in 
temporary abundance, but like the river that flows - 
the cottage, always full and clear. The favored man 
hears the noise of i: ; waters as he rises in the morning, 
he hears it as the sun goes down, and during his wake- 
fid night hours. It was there when he was a child ; 
**,^p -:*- flows during his ■«-»-! -v^; it murmurs his 



162 Benefit of Agitation. 

requiem, and will sing for his children after him. Its 
waters are unfailing. Thus was the river in which 
Ezekiel waded. A weak faith only brings the waters 
to our ankles. The child, frightened in its play, runs 
to seek its mother, who takes it upon her lap, presses 
its little head to her bosom, and with tenderest love 
she looks down upon it, smooths its hair with her soft 
hand, kisses its cheek and wipes away its tears, and 
then in a low sweet voice sings some sweet lullaby of 
love ; the cloud of fear passes from its face, which at 
once brightens up with a smile of satisfaction, the 
eyes close, and it sleeps in the depths and delights of 
peace. God Almighty is the mother, and the soul is 
the tender child which he folds so lovingly to his pa- 
ternal arms and kills into a delightful assurance of 
safety. So he giveth his beloved sleep. The mother's 
arms can encircle only one, but God clasps every 
yearning soul to his bosom, and imparts the peace that 
passeth all understanding. 

Not until the battle is over and the smoke has blown 
away, can we count the dead or weigh the spoils. 
Never do we know how many dead fish, how much 
mire and dirt, sleep in the bottom of the sea, until 
its waters are agitated by the tread of the tempest. 
Never do we know the corruptions of our hearts until 
persecution, tornadoes from earth and hell, stir them 



Our Father's at the Helm. 163 

to their very depths, casting up to our astonished view 
such dead fish, and mire and dirt, as anger, pride, ha- 
tred. Here is the trial of the faith and patience of 
the saints. Happy for us when our sea is agitated, 
and our defects are brought to the surface. Shake a 
bottle of water forever, and you cannot make it riley, 
unless there is a sediment at the bottom. The order 
of God is, first pure, then peaceable. No minister 
has authority to speak peace to a soul uncleansed by 
the blood of Christ. 

But we see the Master has a call to attend a funer- 
al. "We will c-ose this chapter by singing : 

11 Though fierce the howling winds may blow, 
While o'er life's raging sea we go, 
And heave our vessels to and fro, 

Our Father's at the helm. 

t 
Though lying to with close-reefed sail, 

"While on us beats the furious gale, 
Our child-like faith will never fail, 
Our Father's at the helm. 

Though mountains on huge mountains rise, 
And toss us upwards to the skies, 
While many a sea quite o'er us flies, 
Our Father's at the helm. 

Though down we plunge deep in the wave, 
All threatened with a watery grave, 
It cheers our hearts that God can save, — 
Our Father's at the helm. 



164: Our Father's at the Helm. 

Should tempests rage from day to day, 
And sweep our towering mast away, 
We'll quiet sit, and smiling say, 

Our Father's at the helm. 

Let wicked men and devils fear, 

While viewing death and judgment near, 

The child can sing without a fear, 

Our Father's at the helm. 

Oh ! blessed consolation given, 
To saints, while o'er life's ocean driven, 
To guide their bark and bring to heaven- 
Their Father's at the helm 

Then let us join our cheerful songs, 
This stormy voyage won't be long, 
But soon we'll join the ransomed throng, 
For Father's at the helm." 



CHAPTEE TWENTY-THIKD. 



Christ ^ratg \\t gink 



The last minister we ever saw standing in the pul- 
pit, was John A. Collins, of Yirginia. It was in 1841. 
At that time we heard him tell the following anecdote. 
He said, on his circuit there was a poor but very pi- 
ous shoemaker. He was united to a woman of equal 
piety. God gave them several interesting children, 
who grew up like olive plants around his frugal table. 
His home was open for the itinerant, who was always 
more than welcome. One day I was surprised by a 
summons to preach the funeral sermon of the good 
brother, who had been cut down by the scythe of old 
time, without a moment's warning. The first thought 
that entered my mind was, what will become of the 
brood of little ones? for with all the industrv of the 
father and economy of the mother, nothing had been, 
accumulated. I said to myself, how can I preach that 



168 Poor Shoemaker. 

funeral sermon % I shall have the widow hanging upon 
my arm and the children at my skirts, with their deep 
wailings and falling tears ; my heart will be in my 
mouth and I shall melt as wax before the sun. I can 
never preach that sermon* But it could not be put 
off, so I summoned all my courage and faith, and Went 
to the humble dwelling. I expected to be saluted as 
I entered, with tears and wailings ; but how astonish- 
ed was I to see all the children sitting on a bench in 
a row, neatly clad, each with a little handkerchief in 
their hands, and the widow as calm and serene as a 
May morning. She was busy preparing and adjust* 
ing the habiliments of lover and friend for the grave. 
She met me, as usual, with a pleasant good morning. 
The tide of her soul stood still. The hour came 
at last, for preaching, and never did I preach with 
greater liberty. It was arranged that the widow 
should lean on my arm as the procession moved to 
the grave; and I noticed that when the last sod was 
laid on the grave, and we turned to go away, that 
there was not a tear in her eye. I requested her to 
take my arm and return with the rest, but she stood 
like a piece gf statuary, with her eyes upward. Her 
eyes became suffused with tears, and soon torrents 
rolled down her cheeks, and she said in a solemn voice, 
farewell, farewell, farewell, my beloved husband, tin* 



The Widow's Tuts?. 167 

til the resurrection morning. This scene broke every 
rocky heart in the place of burial. Those pent np 
tears were sweetened by the doctrine of the resurrec- 
tion, the lively hope of embracing her husband in the 
better land, where God shall wipe away all tears, and 
where pain and sorrow never come. Dear reader, the 
same Jesus that hushed the waters of Galilee, said to 
the widow, I will be thy husband, thine everlasting 
portion, a father to the fatherless. Thus her soul rest* 
ed and nestled down in the bosom of the promises. 

The funeral we are to attend to day, is something 
like this. It is in th city of Nam. Death had come 
like a ravenous wolf into the sheep fold, and taken 
first the little infant from the cradle, then the father, 
and one after another of the family circle, until none 
remained but the widow and a little flaxen-haired boy, 
the very image of his father, and the delight and hope 
of his mother. Often did she go to the lonely burial 
place, and prostrate herself beside the grave of the 
departed, thinking at times she could hear death rev* 
eling in his charnel house upon the cheeks she once 
loved to kiss ; then would she go back to her lonely 
cottage and weep, like Jacob over Joseph's coat of 
many colors, as she looked upon the coat and hat of 
her husband, and the toys of the little ones, and the 
gush of tears would give temporary relief to her sor- 
rowful spirit But she thanked God for one earthly 



168 Widow's Hope. — Funeral Procession. 

prop, and her heart was comforted as she thought that 
she should lean on the arm of the son, just ripening 
into manhood, as she passed down to the banks of 
Jordan. But even then death was whittling an ar- 
row, and whetting its point on the tombstone of the 
father, for the only son ; and soon the last earthly 
hope of the widow fell. 

The long procession is now formed. One solitary 
mourner. Behold her clothed in her dark habili- 
ments, leaning on the arm of a kind neighbor, follow- 
ing closely the pall bearers, who carry upon their 
shoulders the only son. The Savior looks upon this 
procession as it passes through the gates. His bosom 
heaves like the ocean with the swelling tide of pity. 
He raises his fore-finger significantly before the bier, 
and the throng suddenly stop! The coffin is lowered 
down. What now ! murmur the multitude ; is it not 
written of him, when he comes, that he will give life 
to the dead ? Now here is a good subject on which 
to display the power of the Divinity within him. Oh 
what a moment of interest ! He speaks ! His voice 
vibrates the drum of the lifeless ear. "Young man, 
I say unto you, arise." The glassy eye now fires up 
with ljfe. The young man leaps from the coffin, and 
in a moment is in his mother's arms. Oh the bliss of 
that moment! Heaven itself can scarcely exceed its 
extacy. 



Death of Lazarus. 169 

But we turn from this scene to another of equal in- 
terest. The Master has just received a dispatch, say- 
ing, " he whom thou lovest is sick." The hand wri- 
ting was Mary's, who had more than once entertained 
the Savior. Her brother Lazarus was sick. This was 
a poor family. Lazarus was a bachelor, and he lived 
near the mount of Olives in an humble cottage, with 
his sisters, Mary and Martha. Their latch string was 
always out to welcome the hand of the Savior. Jesus 
was frequently there. Between him and this family 
there was cordial love. When Jesus received this 
message he remained two days in the place where he 
was. Instead of weeping he seemed to rejoice that 
another subject was about to be furnished for the man- 
ifestation of his life giving power. As Jesus approach- 
es the home of his friends, Martha sees him as soon 
as he enters the village. In a moment she is at his 
feet, with something like a murmur and reproof. Oh ! 
says she, if thou hadst been here my brother had not 
died ; but it is too late now ; four days he has lain in 
the grave, the banquet of worms. Says Jesus, thy 
brother shall rise again. Of course, she replies, he 
will rise at the last day ; he is one of the believers, and 
will have a glorious resurrection ; but thousands of 
years will pass before this resurrection will take place. 
And now comes Mary. She drops at Jesus' feet. 



170 Death of Lazakus> 

Closely is she followed by the neighbors, who sup- 
posed she had gone to her brother's grave to weep, 
for the purpose of comforting her. All are in a flood 
of tears. Even on the cheeks of Jesus are tears. Ah 1 
how he loved Lazarus, and sympathized with the sis- 
ters. Ah! those tears are like the leaves of the tree 
of life cast into the bitter waters of the soul, like ho- 
ney flowing from the rock, sweetening all our sorrows. 
And now a deep sepulchral groan is heard, and Jesus 
asks where they have laid him. For a moment he 
prays. The audience are in an agony of suspense. 
Another groan, and he commands the stone to be roll- 
ed away. Ah! this is a step beyond the faith of Mar- 
tha ; she thinks it presumption, and remarks that pu» 
trefaction must already have taken place. But Jesus 
puts his finger on one of his promises, and says, did I 
not say that if thou wouldst believe thou shouldst see 
the glory of God ? Now the stone is rolled away. 
Infidel, look noW with us into the cave. There lies a 
fellow mortal, cold and stiff as the marble. Feel of 
him. He is surely dead. And now we tell you, at the 
request of Jesus, that the spirit which for four days 
has been absent from the body, will return to it again, 
and fire it up with new life. All things are now rea* 
dy for the mighty work. All things are possible to 
them that believe. God is never so truly honored by 



" Come Forth." — Second Blessing. 171 

our faith as when we come to circumstances like those 
here narrated, when we are brought to hope against 
hope. And now the intercessor turns his eye heaven- 
ward and says, " Father, I thank thee that thou hast 
heard me ; and I know that thou nearest me always, 
but because of the people congregated here I said it, 
that they may believe that thou hast sent me." When 
he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, " Laz- 
aruS) come forth." Now look ! Witness the secret 
power that sends the crimson tide through the veins 
again. The cheek which was pale as ashes, now bears 
the color of the rose and lily sweetly blended. The 
eye flashes with the light of life. With one bound 
ne comes forth a living man. 

He comes from the grave as all sinners do from the 
grave of sin. He was a live man it is true but Christ 
had to speak tne second time to make him free.— 
When Jesus came from the tomb he left the grave 
clothes behind in the sepulchre ; but Lazarus was 
bound hand and foot, with a napkin over his eyes. 
Says Jesus, loose him and let him go. This is what 
the Methodists call the second bessing, or christian per- 
fection. Those who arrive at this state are free from 
a man-fearing or man-pleasing spirit, dead to the world 
but alive in Christ. This is the land of Beulah. The 
napkin of unbelief is torn off, and the strong cords of- 



172 Peculiar Exercises. 

worldly glory and pride snap like Sampson's green 
withes. Amen ! Halleluiah. 

But why could not all this have been done without 
such a display of feminine weakness ? A God weep- 
ing ? And what was the use of so much groaning ? 
Why need Jesus cry out so loud that he could be 
heard for half a mile? God is not deaf. You have 
said this a thousand times to the ransomed followers 
of Christ You have looked upon them with con- 
tempt as they have reeled under the burden of the 
Lord, when their prayers and agonizings might be 
heard afar off. Christ uses his followers to raise the 
spiritually dead to life ; and why may there not be as 
loud groaning and prayers at the grave of sin as at 
the grave of Lazarus ? The demolition of Satan's 
empire, and salvation to the uttermost, in the heart 
and in the world, requires great power, the exercise 
of which must occasion some unusual manifestations. 
May all realize what the Savior means when he says 
" Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." 
Amen! 



CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURTH. 



%\t l^Mpl's gttaw. 



Truly Canaan is a hilly country. We have been 
continually climbing mountains or descending their 
slopes ; sometimes through narrow ravines, down into 
rich and fertile valleys, where flow the still waters of 
peace. Here the sheep lie down in green pastures. 
In the foregoing chapter we marched in a funeral pro- 
cession, with muffled drums; our flag at half-mast, 
and our door knobs were hung with crape. We have 
gone though the valley of tears and the shadow of 
death. A mere shadow. A man must be a coward 
to fear a shadow ; yet men who dare to meet any for- 
midable foe on the battle-field, w r ould be scared to 
death by a ghost, or death's dark shadow. But we 
have feared no evil ; the rod and staff of perfect love 
has reduced to a shadow all tormenting fears, and 
made the King of Terrors our humble servant, whose 



174: Another Pisgaii, — Feeding Swine. 

office it is to draw the curtain which shall introduce 
us into the chamber of the King of kings, and Lord 
of lords. Through this valley we have had no shout- 
ing. Our license does not permit us to shout except 
on the mountain top. 

Here we come to the base of another Pisgah. On 
this mountain the Lord has prepared a feast of fat 
things. We understand that an aged patriarch, of 
great wealth and renown, resides on this mountain. 
His stalls are crowded with fatted calves, reserved 
for the banquet celebrating the prodigal son's return, 
who, for a long time, was supposed lost. But a tele- 
graph dispatch had informed the father that he was 
engaged in feeding swine for an old slaveholder in a 
foreign land ; the despatch further stated that he had 
wasted all his inheritance in riotous living, and upon 
the painted, seductive harlot of the world, and that he 
could scarcely be recognized, in his rags, as the son 
of an illustrious house, and that, hungry, penniless and 
friendless, he fed on the husks which the swine had 
rooted over and trampled upon and rejected ; and it 
was further stated that the father loved him still, that 
he had had long nights of weeping over his loss, that 
his joy was great when he heard he was alive, and 
would be greater when he should return. "What will 
not parental affection do when human friendship 



Prodigal Coming. 175 

faints away. It will break through dungeon walls, 
spring back bolts, enter gloomy cells, and embrace 
profligate sons and daughters, filthy rags and all, and 
cry, O ! Absalom, my son. When then the prodigal 
heard of this love of his parent, which had survived 
his excesses, he repented of his folly and said, I will 
arise and go to my father. He begins his journey and 
the father receives another dispatch informing him 
that the son had started for home. 

In his high observatory stands the old man, with 
his spy glass in his hand, his white locks shaking in 
the spicy breezes of Canaan, looking for his son. It 
was with great difficulty that he could ascend the 
long flight of stairs ; sorrow and old age had robbed 
his limbs of their vigor. He sees something ap- 
proaching in the distance, and half believes it his son. 
It is somebody's son, says he, in rags. All the dogs 
are barking at him, and the rumseller that robbed 
him refuses to give him a drink of water. He looks 
again and shouts amen ! halleluiah ! at the top of his 
voice. O, how the waters begin to roar around us. 
The aged man is now a youth of twenty. He drops 
his telescope, runs down stairs, and goes along the 
road bounding like a roebuck. The son, as the father 
drew near, began the speech which he had carefully 
prepared before lie left his swine feeding, — Father I 



176 Christian's Tklegrapu. 

Lave sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am 
no more worthy to be called thy son ; make me as one 
of thy hired servants. But before he had got half 
through his speech the father clasps him to his bosom, 
imprints the kiss of pardon on his cheek, and wel- 
comes him as his son. Nothing but the scene at the 
gate of Nain, and at the grave of Lazarus can equal 
this. There is silence, broken only by sobs of father 
and son. Morse's telegraph is a wonderful thing, 
but the Christian's is ahead of it. It takes several 
minutes to get a message all written out intelligibly 
on the world's telegraph, but God answers while we 
are speaking ; and all this was as well known at the 
time of the prodigal as at the present. 

This scene attracted the attention of a squadron of 
angels, who halted on their journey to another part 
of the kingdom to witness it. The air was fragrant 
with their presence. The first words articulated by 
the son were, Father I am hungry ; no man would 
give me food ; I would give the world for the rejected 
crumbs of thy servants. The father replies, that is 
not the food I set before my children. Then he turns 
to the servants, and says, search the wardrobe, bring 
forth the very best robe and put it upon him, and kill 
the fattest calf and prepare a feast ; and to another set 
of servants he says, bring in bands of music ; and then 



Banquet. 177 

he put on his linger a ring as a token of endless love. 
What a change ! For rags, lie has a spo'less robe of 
parity ; his blistered feet are shod with the sandals of 
peace ; and his head anointed with the oil of joy. But 
still, within him is an aching void. He is hungry and 
thirsty. His olfactories have already smelled the 
banquet which impregnated the air with its savor ; 
his quick ear heard the pouring of the wine from bot- 
tle to goblet, and the band, at a little distance, tu- 
ning their instruments. The neighbors begin to as- 
semble, all clothed in their Sunday suits, and the spa- . 
cious saloon is nearly filled. The hungry soul is 
obliged to tie down the wings of patience with the 
cords of prudence. But, finally, the bell rings, as 
much as to say, all things are now ready. The son is 
seated by the father, in the same chair in which he 
used to sit, and with the same knife and fork which 
he used to use. Never did he so appreciate a meal 
before. Everything was served just right, neither too 
salt nor too fresh, too hot or too cold. The bread and 
the wine, the butter and the honey, how delightful ! 
How wide he opens his mouth. He does not wait 
for compliments, but helps himself. Where should a 
child be fed if not in his father's house ? Oh, what a 
welcome for a prodigal son ! 

In the midst of his enjoyment, he suddenly drops 



178 Amazement. — Second Course. 

his knife and fork and sinks back into his chair in 
amazement, and exclaims, can it be possible that I 
should turn away from such a table, and from such a 
father? and for the bar-room, the gambling saloon, 
the ball room and the brothel? and urge my way 
down to famine, misery, and suffering worse than 
death? Glory to God ! he shouts, as he looks into his 
father's face, which shines as the sun ; I am safe at 
home, and again dives into the banquet. 

Now the cloth is removedj the solids are taken 
away, and the second course comes on. Ah ! says he, 
this spotless linen was the work of my mother, who 
use to take my tiny hands in hers, and lead me into 
the closet, and plant in the garden of my heart the 
flowers of truth. How she used to pour out her soul 
to the God of grace, praying that her little boy might 
grow up to be an ornament in the Church of Christ 
below and in heaven. But she is dead — died with 
grief during my sinful wanderings. She has gone to 
heaven. Halleluiah! By the grace of God I will 
meet her there. And now he lays hold of the grapes 
and pomegranates that grew on the banks of Eschol- 
And now the champagne begins to ease all of their 
troubles ; and where sin abounded grace much more 
abounds. He takes down the old family Bible and 
looks on the newly made record of his return. He 



Mi sic and Dancing. 179 

opens the pocket-book which his father had just given 
him, and it is stuffed fall of checks on various banks, 
of which he was the principal stockholder ; or, in oth- 
er words, the promises, exceeding great and precious, 
which would enable him to draw on heaven and on 
earth, things present and to come, for the supply of 
every need. 

]STow all retire to an upper chamber, where they 
celebrate the return with music and dancing. There 
is a time to dance and a time to mourn, and certainly 
this is the time. The time of mourning is past, and 
joy lights every chamber of the soul. Says the proph- 
et, let the virgins praise him in the dance ; and David 
says, let us praise him with psaltery and harp, let us 
praise him in the dance. Here is our license — license 
for leaping, clapping our hands, and other peculiar 
exercises. Halleluiah ! we are again on the moun- 
tain top of salvation. Salvation ! let the echo fly. 

See the old patriarch. He is renewed like the ea- 
gle. He is filled with the wine of the kingdom. He 
seems to have forgotten that he ever shed a tear. What 
a noisy time. No regard whatever to velvet ears The 
joys of the Lord sweep, tornado-like, Gog and Ma- 
gog, and their whole regiment of the world's nobility, 
into the dismal swamp. Amen! IlaltsljoiahJ But 
who is this coming with angry brow ? The elder 



180 The Elder Broth ke. 

brother. He calls one of the servants and asks the 
meaning of the great noise, the disorder and confu- 
sion which disturbs the order of the quiet household. 
Why, says he, I heard it in the cornfield, and have 
come to pi*t a stop to it. Take care, Pharisee ! Daie 
you lay hands on your father's guests % Dare you at- 
tempt to silence him in the manifestation of his joy ? 
The father goes out to meet his eldest son, and ear- 
nestly pursuades him to join the happy throng. An- 
ger flashed from his eye. lie began to plead up his 
self righteousness ; how very good he had always 
been ; and yet never felt like shouting, hopping and 
falling under the power; hence it must be wrong. 
But it is written that they shall drink and make a 
noise as through wine, and shall be filled as the bowls 
and corners of the altar. They are doing as God re- 
quires. Who art thou, cast-iron Pharisee, that repli- 
eth against God % The father now pleads again, and 
urges the propriety of a jubilee over the returned son, 
for he was dead but is alive again, was lost but is 
found ; but he would not yield, and remained without. 
But we must close this chapter, as we have more 
to say hereafter concerning the effects of the wine of 
the kingdom. 



CHAPTEE TWENTY-FIFTH. 



Cjirisfs fefe €ntrg into lerrata. 



"We must confess we had at the last appointment, 
a noisy, salvation time. And then snch a dinner I 
Solomon never exceeded it in the height of his glory. 
Peter must have had his eye on such a dinner, when 
he exhorted new born babes in Christ, to grow up as 
calves of the stall. You recollect that a little 
previous to the birth of Jesus, Abraham as he was 
sitting in the door of his tent at Mamre, saw three 
men approaching, apparently strangers and pilgrims ; 
with his accustomed hospitality and courtesy, he con- 
strained them to stop and dine with him. under an old 
oak, whose spreading branches shielded them from 
the sun's scorching rays. As the prodigal's father, 
he kept for his distinguished guests a fatted calf re- 
served ; Sarah also, was on hand with her smiling 
face, ready to make the short cake. Little did A bra- 



182 The Last Appointment. 

ham think then he was entertaining the Lord of lords 
and two of his honored servants, Angels from glory ! 
but they had mantled themselves in human form, 
which could be cast off readily, to eclipse the bright- 
ness of their glory. And we do believe that the very 
same Jesus, and his attending angels were with us yes- 
terday, at our sumptuous dinner, where the fatted calf 
was served up, with all the trimmings that could be 
furnished by earth or heaven ; but like our brethren 
at Emmans, our eyes were hold en so that we could 
not see and know him ; Oh ! how our hearts burned 
within us nevertheless ; and how the emaciated, starv- 
ed prodigal, opened his mouth and stowed away the 
solids and fluids ; we shall never forget it. And then 
the music and the dancing, with which all, except his 
offended brother, celebrated his return. 

Young converts, like fat calves, should always stand 
up to the trough filled with pure milk ; then they 
will always be ready to present their bodies, a living 
sacrifice, holy and accepted to God, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. 

But we understand this day is to be head and 
shoulders higher, than any we have had. You say, 
you hope that things will be done decently and in or- 
der ; that the feelings of some of our lost brethren 
will be regarded a little more than they have been. 



Fat Calves. 183 

Many of our best praying, and most genteel and re- 
spectable members, von say, have been disgusted with 
the noise and peculiar exercises, and hare left and 
joined the church of the Laodiceans. Tv T ell, if they 
prefer to drink lukewarm water, rather than the wine 
of the kingdom, why, they' can do it for all of us ; we 
are satisfied that nearly, if not quite all the noise we 
have heard, was caused by the wine ; and it is writ. 
ten that the Lord shall make on this mountain of his 
holiness, a feast of fat things, full of marrow, wine on 
the lees well refined ; we cannot, therefore, promise 
you less noise than we have had. The Scriptures can- 
not be broken, though the heavens fall. 

But we see by the morning papers, that to-day 
Jesus is to make his grand entry into Jerusalem ; it 
is therefore time for us to be off to Bethphage, near to 
Mount of Olives, where we understand the procession 
is to be formed. Already all the lanes and highways 
are crowded with the people gathering to attend the 
Celebration. It was an ancient custom to have set 
days, such as the fourth of July, to celebrate great 
national victories ; and hours before the King and 
and his train could arrive, evey tree, cupola, and all 
elevated spots, would be covered with persons with 
spy glasses, to catch the first appearance of glittering 
Royalty. Hundreds of acres would be crowded by 



184 Bettek Times. 

an eager populace, to see the magnificent train as it 
came upon the chosen ground ; and as the procession 
appeared, the air would be filled with the shouts of the 
multitude — long live the King — Vive V JEinpereur. 
This, with the clapping of hands, the flourish of trum- 
pets, the galloping of steeds, and the rumbling of 
chariots, made a scene beyond successful description. 
An old King on such occasions used to send a her- 
ald a little in advance of him, whose duty it was to 
turn round every Hve minutes, and cry out, " Thou 
art mortal." This, the height of earthly glory, is all 
such ever will enjoy, unless they join the meek and 
lowly army of Jesus. 

Well, here we are at the Mount. Peter and John 
are leading along with the halter, a very humble ani- 
mal, head and tail down. Thus it was directed eight 
hundred years before, by the prophet Isaiah, lie 
gare a circumstantial account of the manner of form- 
ing the procession, and how Jesus should enter Jeru- 
salem, while the multitude shouted hosannas. The 
foal of an ass therefore could no more be dispensed 
with, however mortifying it might be to the supporters, 
than wine in the feast. Well, here the colt stands, 
and by its side the Mighty God, for whom and by 
whom are all things. There he stands with a seamless 
coat, with a staff composed of a few humble fisher- 



Moening Kkws. 185 

meD. Some of the brethren and sisters are engaged 
in carpeting the road with their shawls, mantles, and 
overcoats, their very best. Thousands of young men 
are climbing the palm trees, breaking off branches, 
to wave as signals of triumph. Hundreds of acres 
are covered by men, women, and children, all on tip- 
toe waiting to see the column move. The most of 
them seem to be the common class, although there is 
a sprinkling of purple-robed Pharisees. They are in 
groups, taking counsel together. They are highly dis- 
pleased with the way things are going on. You re- 
member the saddle and all the trappings of an earthly 
monarch glitter with gold, and also the equipages of 
his whole cavalcade ; but the King of Salem, though 
the Governor of the Universe, had not so much as a. 
saddle to ride upon. So he had to borrow Peter's old 
fishing coat, as a substitute. Oh ! how poor, how 
meek. You have seen a father take his little boy, of 
three or four years old, and set him on a horse ; so 
now Peter and John take him who created the world, 
and set on the humble animal. 

Let us hold here a moment. How many of his 
ministers would now be seen mounted in a similar 
manner, going to a city appointment? how many 
brethren and sisters would carpet the road in honor 
of the Lord ? but the moment has arrived for the 



186 Jesus Mounted. 

host to advance. Jerusalem ! behold thy King Com- 
eth unto thee! The throngs that went before him, 
and followed after, cried ; Hosanna, to the son of 
David, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the 
Lord — hosanna in the highest. Hosanna and sal- 
vation are synonymous terms ; and who would not 
shout to behold face to face the author of redemption 
from death and hell, and salvation in heaven ? John 
on Patmos heard a voice in heaven commanding all 
small and great to praise God ; and, in accordance 
with this duty, the multitudes that followed Christ 
sounded the praises, reminding one of the scene in 
heaven, when, like the noise of many waters and 
mighty thunclerings. Hallelujah's rang through the 
heavenly courts. 

In the midst of this triumph, a large and respect- 
able committee of very wise and prudent brethren, 
from the conference then convened at Jerusalem, came 
to lay their hands on such peculiar exercises ; very 
wisely, they made their first onset on the cause of all 
this so-called fanaticism. Thus, in the midst of a 
revival, they undertook to pull up the track, and block 
the wheels of the engine. Looking the Saviour in 
the face, with the audacity of their father, the Devil, 
they peremtorily commanded him to silence the shout- 
ing. And now, reader, we will pause, and not move 



Pkocession Moves. 187 

another inch, until the long controverted question of 
shouting or no shouting, noise or no noise, is settled by 
the Supreme Court, from which there is no appeal. 
The person before us, is the same at whose feet Abra- 
ham plead for his wicked neighbor ; and whom lie 
called the Judge of all earth. 

Not long since, our State was agitated with the 
question whether the shield of the Constitution should 
be held over the heads of rum and whiskey barrels, 
or over the heads of drunkard's wives and children. 
Four of the Judges decided it was unconstitutional to 
break in the cranium of whiskey and rum casks, and 
baptise the earth with their fiery brains ; but entirely 
constitutional to leave heads of wives and children 
exposed to the violence of the subjects of King Alco- 
hol, and all bowed to the decision. And late it has 
been decided in the Supreme Court of the United 
States, that niggers were chattels ; and this decision 
is said to be final. But these decisions have yet to 
pass another and higher Court — the highest of all 
Courts. There all things are to be judged by the 
higher law. The Judge of this absolutely Supreme 
Court, is here before us, meek, lowly ; from His lips 
there is no appeal. The conference at Jerusalem, 
backed up by a proud and scornful world, resolved 
that loud shouting, laughing, leaping for joy, and 



1S8 Decision of Supreme Judge. 

other exercises, were unconstitutional ; and must of 
course be from the Devil, for if not from above, 
they must be from below. One position or the other 
must be adopted. Spiritually, there are no illegiti- 
mate children — all are the children of heaven or 
hell. And now the Judge is about to decide. The 
subject has been carried up from the conference to 
the highest Court ; and now the question is to be put 
at rest. The decision was as follows : If these hold 
their peace, the very stones in the streets would cry 
out. That settles the question forever, with your 
humble author. With Jesus to endorse our position, 
we will drive on our quill, until another scene shall 
appear which shall eclipse every other by its excel- 
ling glory. Pharisees clear the track, before you are 
carried off on the cow catcher, and thrown off* into 
slough of Gehana. 

You see, instead of putting out the fire, and cool- 
ing the vapor pent up in the boiler, the reverse has 
happened ; and the train arrived at the Jerusalem 
depot, with a louder whistle than was ever known 
before. St. Matthew says it was so loud that the 
whole city was moved — not the buildings, but their 
inmates. What is all this ? was the simultaneous in 
quiry. Says the shoemaker, I will go and see, and 
drops his last, puts on his hat, and runs with all his 



Arrival of the Train. 189 

might to the depot, with all his journeymen and 
apprentices at his heels. Doctor and patient have for- 
gotten their disease and are on the stretch for the 
cars. The grandfather and the pratling grandchild 
are going as fast as they can. In five minutes, the 
whole city is on the ground, and on tip-toe, filled with 
wonder and expectation. They cry out with one 
voice, who is this? What is all this noise about? 
The happy multitude responds, this is Jesus of Naza- 
reth, the prophet of G-allilee. The King of Zion has 
come ; let all the people shout hosannah. Amen ! 
Hallelujah ! 



CHAPTEK TWENTY-SIXTH. 



Cftrist Ctara % fcp. 



The committee return to conference — Caiphas in 
the chair— and present their report ; wherein they 
set forth their grievances : that the Nazarine tram- 
pled under his feet 5 the expressed will of the body 
they represented; and, instead of commanding silence, 
endorsed the whole affair, ridiculous and fanatical as 
it was; and, say they, your committee further report, 
that they and their petition received scandalous treat- 
ment ; why sirs, he called us a generation of vipers, 
and compared us to whited sepulchres, fair without, 
but corrupt within— full of deceit and extortion, and 
accuses us of making long prayers, to deceive men, 
while at the same time we were taking the last mor» 
sel from a poor widow's table; and, moreover, he said 
we were fools and blind, and to cap the climax, said in 
reference to our acting as your committee 5 that we 



Committee's Report, 191 

would not enter into heaven ourselves, and were do- 
ing our best to keep others from entering, by chilling 
their ardor, and driving them back to perdition. By 
the time the report was completed, the Chairman and 
a majority of the Sanhedrim— conferance— were on 
their feet, their faces turkey-red with rage. 

But just at this point, a great noise was heard in 
another part of the Temple, occupied by speculators 
who bought animals for sacrifices, and sold them to 
the Lord for a profit of one hundred per cent. There 
was also a bank here, of which Mammon was the 
President, his son-in-law, Mr. Shave, the Cashier. In 
an obscure part of the court, were poverty specula- 
tors, and other small things of the same sort. The 
noise was the outcry of speculators and bank direc- 
tors, as they cringed under the Savior's scourge, and 
the crushing of falling tables, and the jingle of the 
money, as it scattered on the pavement, all making a 
scene of din and confusion, as if Bedlam had dis- 
gorged its inmates. The conference broke up in dis- 
order, and all ran to see what was going on ; and 
whom should they see but the same troublesome Naz- 
arene, with a scourge in his hand, his brow clouded 
with indignation, clearing the Temple of every soul 
that was in it ; and what should they hear but this 
Sold declaration : It is written, that my house shall 



192 Cleansing Process. 

be called a house of prayer, but ye Lave made it a 
den of thieves. But how does this effect the commit- 
tee of the whole? O see! their turkey-red has 
changed to ashy paleness. A cowardly set. Not one 
dare lay hands upon him. 

By this time, the brethren and sisters have carried 
the trash all out doors, have cleansed the Temple, and 
are to have a Sabbath School Celebration. Glory to 
God ! what a sight ! what a work has been wrought ! 
and iu one short hour ! Here are a thousand chil- 
dren just simple and humble enough to be taught of 
God, in the first principles of the oracles of God, and 
to be led from them to perfection. 

But here comes a blind man and cripple to be 
healed. They were not fortunate enough to be at the 
cripple's revival, a few days ago, but through their 
friends they have heard of it, and they have come a 
considerable distance, without a penny in their pockets, 
to see the great surgeon and physician, whose services 
were given without fee. The joyous transports of the 
two converts were so great, that all within the sound 
of their voices were melted down, so that a revival 
broke out right in the Sabbath School, and salvation 
began to run like holy oil from vessel to vessel, until 
the Temple rang with shouts, and hosannas'; and tiny 
aniens were heard all through Jerusalem. This raised 



S. S. Celebration. 103 

the Devil again among the Pharisees. Poor fellows ! 
Like the troubled sea, they cannot rest. The mire and 
dirt of hypocrisy and wounded pride, constantly cast 
up. Another committee was appointed to request the 
troublesome preacher to silence the noise of the young 
converts; but as Spurgeon has it, he took a great rock 
and threw it on them and ground them to powder: 
or, in other words, they hurled the word of God at 
them which says, out of the mouths of babes and 
sucklings, thou hast perfected praise ; that the heav- 
enly choir are composed of such, and thus proved 
Pharisaical professors of religion, bank directors, and 
speculators, never would see inside of heaven, except 
they were converted and became as the children they 
despised; and, that it were better to have a mill-stone 
tied to their necks and be cast into the sea, than to 
offend one of the little ones whom God owns. If one 
sin more than another will forge a thunder-bolt of 
Divine wrath, it is ill treatment to a young convert. 
An affectionate father and mother, not long since had 
occasion to go on a journey of a hundred miles, and 
were to be gone for a week. They left a group of 
seven children. The last words spoken by the mother 
were, take good care of the babe, and the sick one 
that lay on the couch. Yes, says the father more 
sternly, if I find you have neglected the babe, and 



194 Another Committee. 

the feeble child, I shall be highly displeased with, 
you. Thus Jesus gives speciarcommand to care for 
the babes and the enfeebled. "Why in the day of 
final accounts, will Jesus say to some, come, ye 
blessed, and to others, depart, ye cursed ? The right- 
ous looked often to the little ones and supplied their 
needs; the wicked neglected it. Christ well knew that 
the wealthy and the noble of the Church, would be 
looked after, and never sutler from neglect. But the 
lambs ? Alas, he might say to many, thou art neglect- 
ing me, and perhaps to some, why persecutest thou 
me. O ye ministers, that pass by the poor and depen- 
dent, in your pastoral visits, and call only on the rich, 
who are able to pay well. Ye scoffers that dare to 
lay your hand on the mouths of the happy ones, who 
shout and sing hosanna in the Temple, behold your- 
selves in the withered fig tree, cursed by the Savior. 
They are members of Christ's mystical body. The lit- 
tle toe, if stepped on, sends a thrill of pain through the 
the whole frame ; and an injury done to the humblest 
believer, sends a thrill to the head of the body, which 
is Christ. In the twinkling of an eye his sympathies 
are stirred, A sparrow falls not unnoticed; and the 
soul saved is of more value than many sparrows. 
The crime of Dives, who lifted his eyes in torment, 
was, that his income was lavished upon his back and 



Feed the Lames. 195 

palate, and that he neglected the poor at his gate, 
Alas ! it is not the gross, vulgar sins of to-day only, 
but the fashionable ones that are sending men to helL 
But as we have a quill seasoning for another book on 
outward adornings, and popular sins of the day, we 
only touch such points, and pass on. 



CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVENTH, 



®|e toifiOT, "gmmttm ank Qtmm 



Well, dear reader, yon say it is a foggy time with 
you — that you hardly know what to think or believe, 
for you have had Christ for a stumbling stone all the 
way through ; and he has been to yog, though so pre- 
cious to some of your neighbors, a rock of offence. 
Jesus says, Blessed is he who is not offended in me ; 
and of course only such are blessed, And now, Ero. 
Henry, you say, let me ask you a few serious questions, 
touching the last two revivals, with which you were 
so well pleased. The affair of the prodigal's return, 
the joy of the aged father, and the music and dancing, 
were scarcely tolerable ; but the most humiliating of 
all performances was the grand entry of Christ into 
Jerusalem— that capped the climax of all tom-foolery 
and enthusiasm. Why, sir, none but the common class 
of people were engaged in the performance. It would 



Extravagance . 197 

have been more creditable, too, if the members had 

1 round the hat, and bought the Savior a saddle, 

. I of having him ride on Peters old fishino- coat 

And the sisters tlonght they were loing him great 

honor by spreading their mantles and shawls in the 

way ! most of vrhich were out of fashion. Truly sir, 
it ;s no wonder our rulers were offended : and no 
doubt they felt :Ley were doing God service in trying 
to check fanaticism ; and n ever need you expect the 

and noble, the rich and prudent, to join the 
Church, as long as it is filled np with the filth and oil- 
ion. And Christ's tzeatment of the 
committee, and bankers, manifested anything but a 
:l-:va and quir: spirit Why sir, those gei*tlemen 
were not only the ornaments, but the main pillars in 
the Church. True, they did not attend prayer and 

meetings, and such small affairs ; but when the 
: old allow, and on all festive : : : :.iions. they 
were on hand with their families, all adorned with 
splendor and in the fashion. Mir. Mammon, the Pres- 
ident, and Mr. Shave, the Cashier of the bank, carried 
on their persons the marks of the Savior's scourge for 
several days. And then his declaration that he was 
owner of the temple ! and his charging the official 
board of making it a den of thieves! and to perfect 

nog ant claims, stated his determination to stick 



198 Moee Resolutions. 

to the platform while one stone rested on another, that 
it was his intention to break np onr Church and des- 
troy our place and nation, declaring himself the right- 
ful heir, and calling us mere squatters — the children 
of the Devil. 

At this crisis C Tphas called the council together; 
and after stating the object of the meeting, and nam- 
ing a long list of grievances, it was unanimously re- 
solved that patience would no longer be a virtue, and 
that all possible means be used to put down the work. 
This only added fuel to the flame. It was resolved, 
further, that the utmost effort be put forth to remove 
the cause, and spike the offender to the cross. A 
committee was then appointed to confer with one of 
the disciples, named Judas, whose besetment was love 
of money, and who was believed to be backslidden, if 
he had ever enjoyed religion at all ; he was on this 
account considered a fit person to make a traitor, who 
would not hesitate to sell his Lord for thirty pieces of 
silver, the ordinary price of a slave. 

Soon they had the Savior before a bench of judges, 
the parents of our present rum and slavery judiciaries; 
and they condemned him on the charge of blasphemy, 
because he declared himself the Son of God, and that 
they should yet see him standing at the right hand of 
God, coming in clouds of heaven, with power and 



Sayioe Teitd. 199 

glory to judge the world. And it is always high pro- 
fession in connection with holv living that kindles the 
fires of martyrdom. Profession and. practice are as 
necessary to foil salvation as the Divinity and human- 
ity of Jesus. But we must pass over the mock trial, 
the dreadful scourging, the crown of thorns, and the 
cruel smitings, and other indignities inflicted upon 
him in the temple ; also those that wagged their heads 
and mocked him while groaning on the tree, and while 
his breast was bared to all the lancets and javelins of 
earth and hell ; and the dying scene, when he cried 
with a loud voice, dropped his head and gave up the 
ghost, and was deposited in the sepulcher. 

Death had invited a thousand worms to luxuriate 
with him on the Lamb of God. The king of terrors 
whet up his carver, intoxicated with the joy of victory. 
But like an ancient king his knees beg-in to smite 
together ; he drops his carving knife ; and his invited 
guests draw back and turn rjale. "What sudden ter- 
ror has possessed them \ On the walls of the new 
tomb, it is written in letters of living light, his flesh 
shall not see corruption. Meanwhile there was a 
louder shout of exultation in Jerusalem than was ever 
heard before — that quite exceeded the shouts of the 
Philistines when they captured the ark. Ah ! it fell 
on the ears of the disciples as harshly, as the thunder 



200 Another kind of Shouting. 

of the cannon of the sons of Bacchus in the ears of 
drunkard's wives and children, and the friends of the 
temperance reform. The Devil once sent a regiment 
of emissaries on a campaign of fifty years ; and at the 
end of that period he called them back to Pandemo- 
nium to report. One after another arose and addressed 
his Satanic majesty, and told of their sinking ships 
and their crews, and setting villages on fire, but it did 
not get up any very loud shouting. At last one arose, 
and said that for the last twenty years he had been 
trying to tempt an old saint to commit adultery, and 
last night he had succeeded ; and all hell rung with 
malignant shouts — a sound not unlike the shouts of 
the bloody victors of the Lamb of God. But glory to 
God ! it is written, the triumph of the wicked shall be 
short. Ah ! say they, we always told you he was an 
impostor, and we have now put an end to this troubler 
of Israel ; we have spiked his artillery, and quenched 
the wild-fire of his deluded followers. Ko committee 
was appointed to stop their noise. The world always 
has the privilege of celebrating its victories in its own 
way ; but they are not willing to do as they would be 
done by. - 

But we see a division of steel-clad warriors march- 
ing to the tomb of Jesus, to watch over it ; the Phari- 
sees were afraid of him while living, and, cowardly 



Soldiers at the Tomb. — Tidings of Joy. 201 

fellows that they are, they fear kini now that he is 
dead. We look again, and the band of soldiers lay 
like dead men around the sepulcher ; as have thou- 
sands of sinners in later times under the preaching of 
Abbott and others. All have fallen under the power 
of God. jSotlq will say these poor soldiers were hypo- 
crites, although they were doing the Devil's dirty 
work. While they lay under Divine influence, the 
Savior rose, breaking the bands of death. Soon the 
soldiers recovered themselves, to find their charge 
gone ; and soon they were before the council receiving 
a bribe to say, the disciples came by night while we 
slept and stole him away ; and they were assured that 
if the matter came to the Governor's ears, they would 
secure their safety. Alas ! what will not money do. 
Everything but buying a seat in heaven. 

What now ! Two Galilean sisters seem to be run- 
ning a race. Filled with, joy, they were carrying to 
the sad and disheartened brethren the news that Jesus 
had risen, and had given directions for them to meet 
him on one of the moimtains of Palestine. The tidings 
soon reached the ears of the Jerusalem shouters, and 
put out their fires at once ; meanwhile a sacred flame 
was kindled in the hearts of the disciples, which never 
could be extinguished. It was unspeakable joy ; and 
this joy, says Jesus, no man taketh from you. 



202 Ascension. 

After forty days, more than five hundred of those 
who had followed Christ, went out with him as far as 
Bethany, to witness a balloon ascension ; a balloon not 
inflated with the gas of this world, but the glory of 
heaven. As he stood amid the happy group, he 
raised his pierced hands to pronounce his last bene- 
diction. The same convoy of bright angels that 
announced his advent and celebrated it with songs, 
now, though unseen by mortals, were gathered around 
him. Oh, what a glorious scene our faith discovers ! 
An ascending Savior brilliant as the rising sun, and a 
countless throng of celestials glittering like the stars ! 
Angels shout hosannah to his grand entry into the 
New Jerusalem. Arriving at the emerald gates, they 
cry in full chorus, Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and 
be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, and let the king 
of glory come in, with his royal train. In they go, 
and heaven rings with the joyous celebration. 

Two angels linger behind the procession, to declare 
to the disciples that he should come again, in a man- 
ner similar to that in which they had seen him ascend. 
He will then descend with a shout, and the voice of 
the arch-angel, and the trump of God. But, you ask, 
how do you know he went up with a shout ? David 
tells us so in Psalms forty-seventh and sixty-eighth. 
He calls upon all to shout and clap their hands for the 



Ascension. 203 

reason tliat God, manifest in the flesh, had gone up 
with a shout. Hallelujah ! The victory turns on 
Israel's side. Jesus has the monster death tied to his 
chariot wheels. So severe was the shock as death fell 
under his victorious power, that many saints arose 
from their graves, and doubtless ascended with him, 
as a handful of the first fruits of the resurrection. And 
now we will return to Jerusalem with the joyful breth- 
ren and sisters, and retire with them to an upper room, 
there to wait until the Spirit descends ; and as we go 
we will sing, 

Joyfully, joyfully, onward I move, 

Bound for the land of bright spirits above. 

Angelic choristers sing as I come, 
" Joyfully, joyfully haste to thy home." 
Soon, with my pilgrimage ended below, 
Home to the land of bright spirits I go ; 

Pilgrim and stranger no more shall I roam — 

Joyfully, joyfully resting at home. 

Friends fondly cherish' d have passed on before ; 
Waiting, they watch me approaching the shore ; 

Singing, to cheer me thro' death's chilling gloom, 
" Joyfully, joyfully haste to thy home." 
Sounds of sweet melody fall on my ear ; 
Harps of the blessed, your voices I hear ! 

Rings with the harmony heaven's high dome — 
" oyfully, joyfully haste to thy home." 

Death, with thy weapons of war lay me low; 
Strike, King of terrors — I fear not the blow ; 

Jesus hath broken the bars of the tomb ; 

Joyfully, joyfully will I go home. 



204: Ascension. 

Bright will the morn of eternity dawn ; 

Death shall be banished — his scepter be gone; 
Joyfully then shall I witness his doom — 
Joyfully, joyfully — safely at home. 



CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHTH. 



•us tf lentost 



We see by the morning papers that this is to be 
another high day for Israel — the day of Pentecost. 
Reader, yon were with us when the angel announced 
the infant Redeemer's advent into the world. What 
a stir it made at Jerusalem. To his friends who were 
watching his coming it was a morning of joy ; but to 
Herod he was unwelcome. He began to feel the 
foundation of his throne crumbling and tottering. 
You were with us, too, when he so grandly entered 
Solomon's temple and cast out buyers and sellers. 
And you remember, that among his last words, he 
commanded the brethren to tarry at Jerusalem until 
they were endued with power from on high. Said he, 
John truly baptized with water, but ye should be bap- 
tized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. This 
direction of the Savior's is the reason of the protracted 



206 Orderly Prayer-Meeting. 

prayer-meeting in which the one hundred and twenty 
participated. Thus far they have been orderly and 
quiet. No one has been offended or pleased with 
their performances. Their prayers rather dry and 
formal, like those of many of the present day, who 
have only been baptized with water. It is now eight 
o'clock in the morning, the Jewish second hour of the 
day. Breakfast being over, they as usual assemble 
for their morning union prayer-meeting. No one con- 
verted during all their meeting thus far. No peculiar 
exercises to offend any one. No one has fallen under 
the power. Not an amen above a whisper. Not a 
single shout or hallelujah. The conference is com- 
forted with the assurance that their efforts in putting 
out the wild fire have been successful, and that in the 
future all things pertaining-to religion will be decently 
and orderly done. Nazarenism is considered as ended 
forever. 

But even while the conference was thus exulting 
over their victory, the old town clock drew back its 
hammer ; and the first blow laid all their vain glory 
in the dust. At that moment, the third hour of the 
day, a fire burst through the doors and windows of 
that upper room, which all the hydraulic rams and 
water engines the Devil could bring on the ground, 
were not able to quench ; and although eighteen hun- 



Fire! Fire! 207 

dred years have rolled away, the old Jerusalem fire 
yet blazes. Neither has the edge of the old Jerusalem 
blade ever been turned, in the severest battles; and 
since that memorable morning it has never been 
returned to its scabbard. Amen ! 

But what do we now see ? Jerusalem is all alive. 
Men, women and children turn away from their avo- 
cations, and run with all their might to the place 
where the prayer-meeting was held. Fire ! Fire ! all 
through the city ; and sure enough it was no false 
alarm. There was an unearthly fire. Cloven tongues 
like fire hovered over the heads of all the members, 
just as the gentle dove that lit on the Savior's head as 
he came out of the waters of Jordan. At the time 
this strange sight was seen, a sound was heard as of a 
mighty rushing wind, as if the air was agitated by 
the wings of ten thousand angels. The whole multi- 
tude stood mute with awe and wonder. But a few 
moments before they supposed the crazy set was put 
down, and that all their tantrums were at an end ; but 
now the wild fire breaks worse than ever. This was 
the worst of all scenes of confusion. As Moses 5 rod 
swallowed all the other rods, this scene caused all 
past scenes to be forgotten. 

Like all the young converts at the present day, the 
one hundred and twenty were filled with a mission- 



208 "Working Converts. — Divine Eevival. 

ary spirit. Bold as lions, yet meek as lambs, they 
passed out among the crowd. And what do you think 
they were talking about ? The fashions of the day I 
jSTo, no. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, 
and out of the abundance of their hearts, they spoke 
as the Spirit gave them utterance. How wonderful 
to see a sister of Galilee take one of the Parthian sisters 
by the hand, and speak to her in her own tongue. 
All the brethren and sisters seemed perfectly familiar 
with seventeen different languages. There were at 
that time dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews — devout men 
out of every nation under heaven — providentially 
assembled to see this grand opening of the last dis- 
pensation. Paul must have thought of this when 
he said to the Romans, Verily, their sound went 
unto all the earth, and their words to the end of the 
world. 

Here, reader, is a model revival of religion — one 
of God's own getting up. Mr. Wesley once remarked, 
that preaching, and praying, and testimony, that will 
not make men either mad or pleased, is good for noth- 
ing. On this occasion many were offended. They 
saw much that was above their comprehension, and 
which they could not reason away. But infidelity 
has a last resort, when its last fig leaf is torn away, 
namely, scoffing. Ah! they are drunk — filled with 



Peeachee in Charge. 209 

new wine. This is a kind of chloroform the Devil 
has ever held to the nose of his deluded followers, 
who sport with their deceivings, as raving maniacs 
dance to the music of their chains. 

Peter, the preacher in charge, having in his girdle 
the key by which he was to unlock the door for the 
Gospel to go into the Gentile world, now stood forth 
bold as a lion, and flatly denied the charge of their 
being under the influence of the wine or gin of this 
world, for they were all teetotalers. He then directs 
their attention to a promise in Scripture, spoken of by 
the prophet Joel. " And it shall come to pass in the 
last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon 
all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall 
prophecy, and your yoimg men shall see visions, and 
your old men shall dream dreams ; and on my ser- 
vants, and on my hand-maidens, I will pour out in 
those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophecy." 
Thank God ! here is a license for female speaking. 
It was put in practice on that occasion. God grant 
that every sister may ever stand on this free platform, 
until Gabriel blows. But we must listen to the 
preacher. There is a vast multitude present to hear 
the first gospel sermon. "We perceive he is determined 
to know nothing among them except Christ and him 
crucified. Not a word about philosophy, or the starry 



210 Pkeachee, in Chaege. 

heavens ; but with his qiaiver full of barbed arrows, 
and his Gospel bow well strung up, he sends the mis- 
siles among the scoffers and upon the Semhedrim ; he 
calls them murderers of the Prince of life, and tells 
them their guilty hands are unmasked ; and he 
declares the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. 
He stood as a bold witness for the despised Jesus, 
declaring his greatness, his resurrection, ascension, 
and glory. Jesus was at the right hand of God ; hence 
the draft of the brethren and sisters was honored — the 
windows were raised, and blessings poured out which 
there was not room enough to contain. The brethren 
had Gospel measure that day — pressed down, shaken 
together, and running over. The part that run over 
belonged to sinners. This was the noisy part of it— 
the bell riuging for the feast — the triumphant shout 
that called the crowd to hear the first Gospel sermon. 
By the time Peter's sermon closed, three thousand 
arrows had been sent, and were rankling and festering 
in the hearts of the King's enemies ; and while writh- 
ing under the pangs of an awakened conscience each 
one fell before the mourner's bench, and simultane- 
ously cried, Hen and brethren, what shall we do? 
Glory to God ! this was a joyful sound. Three thou- 
sand converts praying all at once, drowning the 
preacher's voice with their loud cries. O ! what an 



Effects. 211 

excitino- time. The mourners never were excited so 
before, and the brethren and sisters were no less excit- 
ed. Tears and groans, prayers and songs, amens and 
halleluiahs, were commingled as in the confusion of 
battle and victory. Pepent and be baptized, every 
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remis- 
sion of sins, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost — 
such were the words which Peter thundered in their 
hearing. They received the word gladly and believ- 
ingly, and were translated from darkness into a most 
marvelous light. Pardon was written on their hearts ; 
praise was upon their lips ; and all spoke the language 
of Canaan. Of all the scenes we have beheld since 
we passed out of the gates of Eden, this is the most 
marvelous. How simple does faith appear, and how 
powerful, to convert groans into praises, and peniten- 
tial pleadings into deafening halleluiahs. How benev- 
olent now are these new converts. Their pocket- 
books have been converted as well as their souls. 
They are loving their neighbors as themselves. No 
unfortunate brother or sister is handed over to the 
poor-master. They went from house to house, break- 
ing bread with singleness of heart and gladness, and 
as they went their tongues were eloquent with praises 
and prayers. Thus this mighty shower was turned 
into a settled rain, and converts were born of the 
Spirit every day, and added to the Church. 



212 Spiritual Temple. 

The net was cast down on the right side of the ship 
to-day. "We thought it a noisy time when Ezra laid the 
foundation of the second temple, and the mingled noise 
of weeping and shouting was heard afar off. The rocks 
and hills of Palestine echoed and re-echoed with the 
sound. But this day we have seen the foundation of a 
spiritual temple laid, whose goodly stones are not gran- 
ite or marble, but the souls of the redeemed. The 
daughters, it is said, shall be polished stones — like 
Dorcas, Mary, Lydia, Chloe,Priscilla, and many others, 
who have been cup-bearers of the King of kings. We 
will therefore take the liberty to shout and sing hosanna 
at the laying of the foundation of this most glorious 
of all temples, and ask no man's pardon. Amen. 



CHAPTER TWENTY-NINTH. 



gmmg Cmtterte, 



Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within 
me bless his holy name. This was the language of 
David, and we feel like adopting it this morning, as 
our enraptured vision beholds some of the precious 
fruits of yesterday's revival. It was a coronation day 
for Jerusalem sinners. Long and earnestly, dear 
reader, have we prayed for you since we left Eden 
together. Surely you have had a sorrowful time, as 
did the elder brother of the prodigal son, while all 
around you were feasting with Jesus and drinking 
wine. You have worn a face as long as the moral 
law. You had so much to do in steadying the ark, 
and quenching what you call wild-fire, that you have 
not had time for self-examination; and we have 
observed that when you pray, all you say is to thank 
God that you are not as some other men, or as the 



214 Exhortation 

publican smiting on his breast, and with his face to 
the earth, as if he were licking the dust of repentance. 
But glory to God ! we saw yon fall in battle yesterday. 
As the son of thunder stood upon the wall, and with 
hife little sanctified army, gave you a few broad-sides 
of grape-shot, aiming directly at the hearts of the king's 
enemies, O how rejoiced were we to see your honor, 
dignity, self-righteousness, roll together in the dust. 
O how hard it was for the royal family, so ancient and 
noble, to give up the ghost. Self-righteousness was 
the last to give up his hold. But the arrow was driven 
to the feather, and all had to submit 

You were not, perhaps, aware that your friends were 
mortified with your screaming and groaning, and per- 
haps you forget how much you used to oppose such 
things. Suppose now you stand up here and give us 
a little of your experience. You must remember it is 
written that ye should receive power after the Holy 
Ghost comes upon you, and that you must be witnesses 
for Jesus in Jerusalem. Judea, and Samaria, and in 
the uttermost parts of the earth. The Bishop may yet 
send you to Birmah, or Africa, as a witness to them. 
So now stand up here on the platform and tell your 
story. 

Well, Bro, Henry, I thank God that in his provi- 
dence it was my lot to go on a pilgrimage with you ; 



Eelates ms Experience* 215 

but it was not until yesterday that 1 saw the reason 
why we differed so widely on the subject of Christian 
peculiarities. Both of us professors of religion ; but 
what was meat to you> was poison to me. Outward 
demonstrations that would try me sorely, and knit my 
brows, would make you almost frantic with joy. I 
verily thought 1 was doing God's service while laying 
hands on everything that did not exactly correspond, 
in length and breadth, with my iron bedstead. The 
only reason I could assign for this course was, that I 
was never the subject of such groanings, tears, and 
raptures. But yesterday, glory to God ! when I saw 
the tongues of fire, and heard the mighty rushing 
wind, — when I saw the shining faces of the happy 
group at the prayer-meeting, and heard the songs and 
shoutings, and their clear, burning testimony, as they 
passed through the crowd, exhorting all to come to 
Christ, — and heard the sermon of the preacher, which 
presented before my eyes the crucified Prince of life, 
and charged me with the guilt of his death, — when 1 
heard all this, I had business enough of my own, to 
attend to my wicked heart. As fig-leaf after fig-leaf 
was torn away, I saw my inward corruption, and was 
convinced that the prophet was not extravagant, when 
he said the hearts of sinners were as a cage of unclean 
birds — a den of hissing vipers, Oh! how the heav- 



216 Eelates his Experience. 

ens darkened ov«* my guilty head. As the lightning 
flashed out its forked tongues from Sinai, as if forging 
thunderbolts to dash a murderous rebel to perdition, 
it seemed as if the earth was about to open and swal- 
low me alive, as it did the wicked company of Korah. 
I saw myself justly condemned, and cried out as one 
in the belly of hell, What shall I do to be saved f If 
there had been present ten thousand devils, with their 
harpoons, or all the nobility of earth to turn up the 
lip of scorn, it would not have stopped my groanings 
and cries ; I should have prayed on until the Spirit 
had raised a standard in the gloom — the bloody robe 
of Jesus, on which was a' single star ; and until the 
voice was heard in my ear, Be of good cheer, thy sins 
are all forgiven thee. O what a moment of sweet 
peace ! My groanings were changed to halleluiahs — 
my garment of heaviness into a garment of praise. 

My dungeon shook, 
My chains fell off; 

Glory to God ! I cried. 
My soul was full ; 
I cried enough ; 

For me the Savior died. 

As I spread my wings of joy and love, I left my 
old broken shell of self-righteousness and Phariseisin 
behind me. And now, 



Powejj of Salvation. 217 

They say I am too noisy — 

I know the reason why ; 
And if they felt the glory, 

They'd shout as loud as I. 

But we see Peter and John coming again in the 
temple. The Bishop has sent the disciples out two by 
two on the circuit. It happened as they were about 
entering the eastern gate, they beheld a poor cripple, 
lame from the womb, who presented his old hat for 
alms as they approached him ; they ransacked their 
pockets but could find nothing, for they had gone forth 
without purse or script, and were as poor as the beg- 
gar himself; but, says Peter, we will give you the 
best we have, rejoicing that they had a subject on 
which to manifest the power of the great salvation ; 
and he took him by the hand and said, In the name 
of Jesus Christ rise up and walk. Reader, you would 
be astonished to see how salvation, like the sap in the 
tree, began in his head, and ran down into his ankle 
joints. In a moment he leaped as a roe-buck. 

All the people saw him walking and leaping, and 
praising God. And they knew it was the person who 
sat at the gate ; and were filled with amazement at 
the salvation which could run down into the ankle 
joints of lame professors of religion. O ! how often 
have we prayed, as we have heard ministers and class- 
leaders urging professors to get up and tell of Jesus, 

10 



218 Overdoing the Thing. 

that God would strengthen ankle joints. It is said 
that one of the old pioneer Methodists was traveling 
in the western wilds. He called at a cabin, ana 
requested the woman of the house to provide him 
some refreshments, and introduced himself as a Meth- 
odist preacher. The lady said she would grant his 
request, provided he would pray before he left that 
God would give rain ; for, says she, our fields and 
gardens are burning up for the want of it, and if you 
are a man of God, she continued, your prayers will 
be answered. After dinner, the preacher knelt at the 
throne of grace, and sent up a petition to Him — wno 
maketh the clouds his reservoirs ; and, whether in 
answer to the prayer or otherwise, along came the 
clouds and poured out their treasures on the thirsty soil. 
So Copious was the shower that it took the good 
woman's garden sauce, root and branch, and swept it 
into the river. Just like the 'tarnal Methodists, says 
the matron, they always overdo the thing. So with 
the young convert. Peter told him to arise and walk, 
but he jumped clear over the preacher's chalk marks, 
and leaped and praised God amid the crowd, indif- 
ferent to the tender corns of the Pharisees, and elders 
of the people. The salvation was so powerful that it 
took away, root and branch, a man-fearing and pleas* 
ing spirit, just as the deluge the kind matron's vines, 



Paul's Experience. 219 

and carried them to the Dismal swamp. God grant 
they may be buried there without the promise of a res- 
urrection. Amen! Amen! 

It is now time that we leave the apostles, and strike 
out in a different region. But the apostle Paul holds 
us by the button, and claims a page or two for his 
experience. 

Once, says he, I was a blasphemer, a poor miserable 
persecutor of the saints, and so filled with self-right- 
eousness and worldly wisdom, that there was no room 
for the wisdom that cometh from above. Like your 
friend that was converted yesterday, I was exceed- 
ingly mad at those whom I deemed fanatics and fools. 
Alas ! how many prayer-meetings did I- break up. I 
drove the saints into the darkness of the night, and 
unto solitary caves, to find opportunity to worship. 
And yet tliey were happy. Like a fool, I undertook 
to put salvation to jail. But all was like casting pure 
oil in the flame. While I and my wicked coadjutors 
persecuted one pound, Jesus was sure to bless two 
pounds. And it occurred, as I started with my posse 
from conference, with my pocket-book crowded with 
warrants for the arrest of the fanatics of Damascus, 
breathing vengeance and slaughter, the Lion of the 
tribe of Judah crossed my path. A light, above the 
brightness of the sun. shone around me, and I fell to 



220 Paul's Experience. 

the ground under its power, and all niy constables fell 
as if shot. A voice then fell on my ear, saying, Saul, 
Saul, why persecutest thou me? Hold a moment, 
modern scoffer ! The same voice sounds in your 
ears, Why persecutest thou me ? But, says Paul, far 
be it from me now to persecute Christ in the persons 
of his followers — of his royal bride — of the least of his 
disciples. And ye who deny and ridicule the falling 
of God's people under the power of God, calling it 
weakness, nervousness, charging it to the flesh, thus 
robbing Christ of his glory, — better steal your neigh- 
bor's sheep, and run the risk of heaven, unwashed of 
your guilt, than with the guilt of such meanness. The 
day of judgment will thunder this truth home to your 
souls. It was this kind of business that made the 
apostle style himself the chief of sinners. Compared 
to this, other sins were as motes to a mill-stone. The 
only hope of the apostle was that he did it ignorantly; 
blinded by prejudice and self righteousness, he verily 
thought himself doing God's service. 

Bat behold he prayeth. The proud Pharisee has 
become an humble beggar, crying for salvation. He 
was directed, not to Caiphas, the chairman of the con- 
ference at Jerusalem, but to an old class-leader, a 
tanner by trade, who laid hands upon him, and prayed 
vith him. The scales fell from his eyes 5 the light 



Paul's Experience. 221 

burst in upon his soul, and he began to bind up the 
wounds made by his own wicked hands. Your author 
knows how he felt as the boy led him around from 
place to place, while the arrows of conviction were 
piercing his breast. Although our natural vision has 
not been restored, yet the Divine light that shone in 
Paul's soul, has sanctified the use of the mind, and 
filled our whole soul with the light of life. Halleluiah 
to the Lamb ! 



CHAPTER THIRTIETH. 



%\t Wmti \\t pigftom 



Dear brother, -until recently we have called you 
reader ; but since yon were connected, and adopted 
into the family of God, and your name written in the 
Lamb's book of life — the old family record — we hail 
you as brother ; and not only as brother, but as an 
heir of God and joint heir with Jesus Christ. But he 
that sanctifieth, and those who are sanctified, are one, 
for which cause Christ is not ashamed to call them 
brethren ; not even the illiterate fisherman, nor Mary 
Magdalene. Impure as she had been, when washed 
in the Gosj^el laver, he was not ashamed to introduce 
her to the Father, and the holy angels, as his sister. 

Let me tell you, young brother, that among the first 
lessons in the school of Christ, is the hailing every 
person who bears the Divine image, as brother or sis- 
ter. You will find this a cross, and, unless you watch 



u We ee Brethren." — Effects of Dedtedtg. 223 

and pray without ceasing, your cheeks will often flush 
with shame. Many there are, whc will brother and 
sister meeting who would 

blush to do it 1 fore a proud world ; if yon 

: fchf Lord's poor, with patches ::: your 
knees, an I witl Ibare ::at on Tour back. 

Remember, :; :. if you continue to drink as freely 

of the wine of the kingdom as yon have done since 

your conv^:;;::; you will have a first rate chance to 

u reputation. The wise and the prudent of 

>rld will be veiy apt to look upon yon with 

scorn. Jesus made himself of no reputatioi 

. did one of Lit followers tread in his foot prints 
and set his face against all popular sins, in and ont : : 
the Church, without doing the same : their reputation 
goes by the board, and they are cast out as bid 

if you are passive in the hands of Gk l a as the 
sails ._ :. ship, or the waving branches of 
the wind, the Spirit will often make every fibre of the 
soul vi bi as the strings of an in-:: ument swept by 
the hands of a skillful | id, i b - , sj iiitual 

gale will make youj top-sai] kiss the ocean. •;: the t :"."_ 
tree lie re urate on the ;.rtm To be passive, is to 
have no will of your own ; none even res] acting youj 
—no more than the fluttering '_:-. I 
or the well fill 



2M "As Thou Wilt." 

When we hear brethren and sisters praying, or 
desiring that they may fall under the power, shout, 
laugh, or scream, it is evidence to us of the will's 
insubordination ; and equally so, when they wish to 
be excused from all these peculiar demonstrations, so 
mortifying to human pride. They cannot say from 
their hearts, Thy will be done. Perhaps we have 
fallen more than one hundred times, under the sweep- 
ing power of God, but have never asked God to make 
his power manifest in this manner It has pleased 
the Spirit to use us thus, and generaly, we have said, 
Amen ! The Spirit is very easily grieved, and we 
remember with sorrow, the few times we lifted up our 
finger of rebellion. We have rebelled a little, when 
we thought the occasion was not adapted to such 
demonstrations, or, when some presiding Elder, or 
some other tall cedar was present, who ridiculed such 
things. At such times, the gentle dove has spread 
her wings and flown away. And we were not per- 
mitted to return to our Father's table, until our hands 
were washed [from guilt — not till then, could we 
appropriate a single promise, and fill the ebbing tide 
of peace and joy. 

You will find, young brother, as you advance in the 
way of holiness, that this will be one of your critical 
places. If you take the old line, you will sometimes 



Critical Spot. 225 

be so placed, that you must displease God or men — 
pebaps your pastor whom you love, and your class- 
mates ; aud, if ever you need the wisdom that 
cometh from above, it is at such a time as this ; when 
all earthly lovers are laid on the sacrificial altar, and 
we see them bleed, and gasp, and die. Thus must we 
do if we would have God rejoice over us, as a bride- 
groom rejoiceth over his youthful bride. Who would 
not forsake all, for the sake of Christ's love? Halle- 
luiah ! 

You have often heard us talk of the effects of the 
wine of the kingdom, upon those who imbibe it 
freely. "Wine is the symbol of the Ho]y Ghost. On 
account of its effervescence — its life and power — it 
is put in new bottles. An old leather Pharisee 
would explode in five minutes, if filled with it. To 
explain the matter more fully, we quote a chapter 
from our Life. 

"In the fall of 1848, Rev. Jesse Penfield being 
about to close up his labours on this circuit, God put 
it into his heart to raise a Methodist chapel in Frank- 
fort. To all appearance this might have staggered the 
faith of Abraham ; but with God, impossible things 
become possible. The attempt was made, and in Feb- 
ruary, 1849, a beautiful brick church was dedicated 
to Almighty God, by Eev. B. J. Diefendorf, then pre- 
siding elder on that district. A protracted meeting 



226 Chapter on Wine. 

was then commenced, in the Baptist and Methodist 
Churches. The battle now began in good earnest ; 
the powers of darkness gave way, and a glorious revi- 
val followed in both Churches. Frankfort in a meas- 
ure, seemed redeemed. O how good it is to hold on 
to the arm of the Lord, and wait patiently for him ! 
The blind man's cottage could not now hold a tenth 
part of the lovers of prayer meetings, where, for six 
years previous, they would not average ten persons, 
including all denominations. I was deprived of hear- 
the dedication sermon, as duty and affection, kept me 
by the bed-side of my suffering companion ; but in 
the evening, I had the happiness of listening to 
brother Wyatt. 

His subject was the great feast, which God had pre- 
prepared for the souls of them that love him. I will 
assure you I opened my mouth wide, as the Lord had 
commanded me, and my soul partook heartily of the 
solids, as well as the fluids, that faith saw plainly 
spread out before me — not only fat things full of mar- 
row, but wine as pure and effervescent, as that drawn 
from the water-pots at the wedding in Galilee. As I 
arose, after the sermon, to express my gratitude to 
God, for what he had done, and what he was about 
to do, for sinners in Frankfort, I took so large a 
draught of this wine, that I reeled and fell under its 
power ; and I have scarcely drawn a sober breath 
since. It was the same kind of wine, that the disci- 
ples drank, on the day of Pentecost, when they were 
accused by the multitude of being drunk. Wine, 



Life of the Author. 227 

here, is the symbol of the Holy Spirit, and any man 
that has ever been intoxicated by the madeira and 
champagne of this world, and also that of the king- 
dom of grace, will see a forcible and striking simili- 
tude between them. It is with shame that I c 
that I have more than once been staggering drunk on 
the wine of this world. But I rejoice to say that I 
have since that time drank to intoxication of that 
which flows from Christ, the living vine. Therefore, 
I speak what I know by experience. But let us trace 
the analogy ; and, to make it plainer, permit me to 
relate one or two circumstances of my shameful expe- 
rience, while dwelling in the land of Egypt. "When I 
was engaged in business at the South, and especially 
on the Alleghany Mountains, it was a custom for the 
lawyers, doctors, engineers, and contractors, and a 
like quality, falsely called gentlemen, to have occa- 
sionally, a venison dinner, with sumptuous trimmings 
and sparkling wines. You see now, at two o'clock, 
twenty fashionable well-dressed men, who, from their 
conversation and general deportment, give every 
appearance of gentlemen, in the true sense of the 
word. TTe will now close the door upon them, and at 
six o'oclock we again look into the dining room. 
They are all there ; but their order and decorum has 
stepped out, and confusion reigns among them. One 
man is standing on the table spouting Shakspeare ; 
another is bragging of his wealth, and ostentatiously 
displaying his bonds and bank notes; another is boast- 
ing of his pedigree, his noble ancestry. One man is 



228 Life of the Author. 

swearing profanely; another laughing, ready to split his 
sides at every silly remark he hears. By his side, his 
fellow is crying, and no one knows, or cares about the 
cause. One of the number is dancing as merrily as 
a lord ; while at his feet lies one as insensible as a 
mummy. 

You wonder, as you glance at these men, in the 
midst of broken glasses and upset tables, and ask the 
host the cause of this great change wrought in them, 
in the short space of four hours. He will tell you 
that they were under the influence of wine, that is, 
they were filled with the spirit of the wine. You will 
ask him again, the occasion of the different conduct 
exhibited in different individuals. He will, perhaps, 
tell you that the wine affects all people equally, but 
no two alike ; and, that the outward demonstration 
is varied, according to the natural bent, and disposi- 
tion of the partaker. 

Header, please take my arm, and go with me to an 
ancient house in Jerusalem. See there, in an upper 
chamber, one hundred and twenty disciples, all very 
grave and sober men and women. Twelve of them 
are the chosen apostles of Jesus. Among the sisters, 
is Mary, the mother of the Savior. They are quietly 
praying and conversing together. We will close the 
door, and after three hours, or, about the ninth hour, 
we will look in again, upon the same individuals. 
How are they now ? Are they all sitting quietly on 
their seats ? O, no ! there was a noise, and that so 
great, so loud and strange, that it was heard through- 



Life of the Author. 23§ 

out the city — so that a great multitude of the curious 
gathered about the doors, as they have often done on 
similar occasions. You hear now. not only one indi- 
ual, but the whole congregation, audibly and earn- 
estly talking at once, and in fourteen different langua- 

nd the sacred historian tells us. that they were 
ail talking >i the wonderful works of God. and that 
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost : or. he might 
have said, they were filled with the wine of the king- 
dom. As it was, the scoffing multitude came to the 
conclusion that they were all drunk. And when we 
turn to the history of the last century, and read of 
the multitudes that shouted, reeled, staggered and fell 
to the ground as dead men, under the preaching of 
a Weslj, Fletcher, WMtefield, Christmas Evans, 
Abbott, and others, and add to that our own experi- 
ence and observation for the last ten years, at camp- 
meetings and other places, we know of no better con- 

n, that a sober and dispassionate., unconverted 
multitude could arrive at, than to say they were all 
drunk ; for I do know by observation and experience, 
that the outward manifestations of the two kinds of 
wine bear a striking analogy ; and I do not wonder 
that the prophets and the apostles made choice of 
wine, as a symbol or comparison to illustrate the ope- 
rations of the Holy Spirit. But Peter, standing up. 
denies the charge of their being drunk, and then goes 
on to explain to the multitude the cause of the i 

eemino: confusion. He might have said, it was 
estimate-clay or pay-day ; that Jehovah had just 



230 Life of the Author. 

cashed a bond, which he had caused to be executed a 
few hundred years previous by Jeremiah, one of his 
clerk's ; or, in the language of Scripture, "I will pour 
out of ray Spirit," or wine u upon ray servants and 
handmaids, and they shall prophesy;" or, in other 
words, that was the set day when more than three, 
thousand new bottles or souls should be filled with 
new wine, or the champagne of the kingdom. 

So, my dear long-faced, sober-sided, fault-finding 
reader, when you go to another camp-meeting, where 
five hundred of God's people have met together with 
one accord in one place, and you see them all upon 
their knees, calling upon their heavenly Host, that 
they may be filled with the Spirit, do not be surprised 
if, after a while, you see brother Henry leaping, 
laughing, and falling down ; another shouting ; the 
the third pointing to his bonds and mortgages in the 
old record, and telling how rich he is ; while near by 
a hoary-headed old father, with patches on his knees, 
boasts of his pedigree, tracing his ancestry back to 
the Ancient of Days, producing his evidence that 
God was his father, and Jesus Christ his eldest 
brother. At a little distance you will see a good sis- 
ter melted into tears, while a holy, reverential awe 
broods over her in silence ; by her side lies one insen- 
sible, while the whole five hundred rejoice together 
in hopes of the glory of God. You " now turn and 
ask me the cause of all these exhibitions of joy ? Per- 
mit me to answer you, in the language of your bar- 
room host : " They are all filled with the Spirit." 



Life of the Author. 231 

I should be glad if I had space to make a few 
selections, backing np this truth, not only from sacred 
history, but also from the history of the Church, 
during modern reformations. But I must pass them 
by, and conclude this too lengthy chapter by giving 
you two recipes — one that will effectually cure you 
of fault-finding, and the other to cure the people of 
God from shouting. They are a sovereign remedy. 
Perhaps a little incident in my own experience may 
better convey my meaning. About the year 1S36, 
while living in Franklin County, Pa., business placed 
me in a stage coach to go to Harrisburg, a distance of 
about forty miles. About twelve o'clock at night, the 
driver stopped at a hotel in the village of Carlisle, a 
few rods from Dickinson College. While changing 
horses I roused from a stupor, and, half awake, and 
not very good-natured, went into the bar-room, where 
at once my ears were saluted with shouts, songs, speech- 
ifying, loud laughter, and not a little systematical 
swearing. The noise proceeded from a large parlor 
in a distant part of the hotel. I well understood the 
cause. I suppose it was something like the noise that 
Moses and Joshua heard, as they came down from the 
mountain, from a certain party dancing and shouting 
around a golden calf. But I had not been there long 
before the parlor door opened, and it was no sooner 
known by the revellers that Captain Henry Was in 
the house, than a fragment of the party caught me by 
the collar, and, in spite of all expostulations, precip- 
itated me into the midst of a party of drunken colle- 



232 Life of the Author. 

giates, and other like companions. Under those cir- 
cumstances, I presume I felt very much like an 
unconverted man, looking on, while the power of 
God is displayed like a tornado in the forest, waving 
one tree top into the arms of another, and occasion- 
ally tearing up a stately oak by the roots, bringing it 
headlong to the ground. They appeared to me like 
a set of fools. Their general conversation and per- 
formance seemed ridiculous in the extreme. The 
stage now went off without me. I began to pour 
down the wine, and in half an hour I could laugh 
and make speeches with the best of them. I saw no 
impropriety in anything that was going on. Here, 
reader, is your recipe. When you get tired of hear- 
ing your brethren shout, hearken to the invitation of 
the prophet, to come and buy this wine, and let your 
soul delight itself with this delicious influences. Let 
your soul be filled to the brim with this pure wine of the 
kingdom ; and, if it does not cure your croaking and 
fault-finding about the brethren and sisters shouting, 
and making such a noise and confusion, you may set 
it down for a certainty, that you have not a genuine 
article. . The second recipe is an effectual cure for 
shouting, leaping, falling with the power, &c. Take 
a quantity of backbiting, croaking, idle words, super- 
fluity of dress, anger, self-righteousness, mix them 
well together in a powder, and wash it down with a 
hearty draught of rum, brandy, or whiskey, and, my 
word for it, you will not be troubled with spiritual 
ecstasy. But, before I close this subject, I wish to say 



Life of the Authok. 233 

I can tell the reader by experience — by sad as veil 
as joyous experience — that the consequences resulting 
from the use of the two articles, are as unlike as 
heaven and hell. 

The wine of this world leaves a man with a head- 
ache, heartache, remorse and rags, and the finger of 
God hath written, "No drunkard shall inherit the 
kingdom of God." Consequently, the undying soul 
will dwell forever in eternal darkness, with distillers, 
rumsellers, hypocrites, dogs and sorcerers, and every 
species of evil-doers. While the wine that flows 
freely from Christ, the living vine, will give peace 
like a river, and the ultimate boon will be glory, 
honor, immortality and eternal life through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. One will procure for you the tor- 
ments of hell, the other the rest of heaven. Eeader, 
the two cups are before you. May God help you to 
make a wise choice. Amen. 

" GOOD MORNING, BROTHER PILGRIM ! " 

The following is the substance of conversation between two profes- 
sors as they met — one going to, the other returning from, camp- 
meeting, early in the morning : 

" Good morning, brother pilgrim ! 

"What, marching to Zion? 
What doubts and what dangers have you met to-day? 

Have you found a blessing ? 

Are your joys increasing? 
Press forward, my brother, and make no delay. 

Is your heart a glowing? 

Are your comforts flowing? 



:34 G: :d Morning, Begthes Phloem. 

And ha we : : : do's" bright and clear? 

Ha - : y 

Thai ■ - 

And ha re hope in the how _ _ Lt a Jurist ="- all appear? 

■ I came oat this morning, 
And now am returning, 

7 . i _ little : ar than when I first came ; 

Such groaning and shooting 

H s its meU Ai noting, 
I fear such religion is all like a dream. 

Hue preachers were stamping. 

The people were jumping, 
And screaming so loud that I neither could hear 

Either praying or preaching ; 

. .: - z =;: : : :L 

Twae :. "'. :: . : a s1 ill that was Si 

■ Perhaps my dear brother, 
While they pray'd i _ ■ 

You sat and considered, and pray'd not at all ; 
.i you find a bl«-_ g 

Hi 91 pray ttithoid &: 

which was given by PauL 

For if you should reason 

At any soch eeaf 
Xo wonder if Saiai sh old tell in your ear ; 

•The preachers and y 

Are all but a rabble. 
And this is no place for reflection and pr^- 

" 'Jtb piaeefor reflection !' 

I'm fiil'd with d. i 

I « der the people could bear for to e 

The men were all b&^_ - 

The women were squalling, 
I wonder, for my part, how any could prar. 



Good Morning, Brother Pilgrim. 235 

Such horrid confusion, 

If this be religion, 
Sure it is something new that has never been seen ; 

For the sncred pages 

That speak of all ages, 
Do nowhere declare that such ever has been." 

" Don't be so soon shaken ; 

If I'm not mistaken, 
Such things have been acted by Christians of old ; 

When the ark it was coming, 

King David came running, 
And danced before it, in Scripture we're told. 

When the Jewish nation 

Had laid the foundation, 
And rebuilt the temple by Ezra's command, 

Some wept and some praised, 

Such a noise there was raised, 
'T was heard afar off, perhaps all through the land." 

" And as for the preacher, 

Ezekiel the teacher 
"Was taught for to stamp, and smite with lus hand ; 

To show the transgression 

Of that wicked nation, 
And bid them repent and obey the command. 

For Scripture quotation 

In this dispensation, 
Our gracious Redeemer has handed them down ; 

If some ceased from praising, 

"We hear him proclaiming, 
The stones to reprove them would quickly ciy out." 

" Then Scripture is wrested ; 

For Paul has protested 
That order should be kept in the house of the Lord ; 

Amidst such a clatter 

Who knows what's the matter? 
Or who can attend unto what is declared? 



236 Good Morning, Brother Pilgrim. 

To see them behaving 

Like drunkards or raving, 
And lying or rolling prostrate on the ground ; 

I really felt awful, 

And sometimes was fearful 
That I'd be the next to come tumbling dovrn." 

"You fear persecution 

And there's the delusion, 
Brought in by the devil to draw you away ; 

Be careful, my brother, 

For blest are none other 
But such as are never offended in me." 



CHAPTER THIRTY-FIEST. 



iietos 0! laijtt W,tik& 



We are to leave prophets and apostles, and look for 
fruit on the boughs of the tree of life, the branches 
of which spread over the nations, as far as the Mis- 
sionary .has gone with his torch-light. ]S~o fruit will 
be accepted in the golden city, but that which is 
engrafted. The twelve apostles were first engrafted 
in the true olive ; and they bare twelve manner of 
fruits, that is, their manner of preaching or delivery, 
the same truth was various. Peter could not preach 
like John, nor John like Paul. Each had his pecu- 
liar traits. Take twelve evangelical ministers of the 
present, and let them preach from the same text ; no 
two of the sermons will be alike, though all should 
preach the pure Gospel. There if* a diversity of gifts ; 
but the same Lord wroketh in all. 

A son of a kind father, left the parental roof, and 



238 The Old Tkee. 

removed to the west. Among the objects of his 
recollection about the old home, was an apple tree in 
the back yard, which bore only gnarly, sour fruit, 
scarcely fit for swine. After an absence of fifteen 
years, he returned, and to his astonishment, found that 
his father had sawed off all the natural branches, and 
engrafted twelve different kinds of fruit, On one 
branch were hanging golden sweets, on another, the 
pipkin, and on other branches the different varieties, 
making up the twelve, The tree could gratify all 
varieties of taste. And, as. the stock of the tree was 
the channel through which life was diffused to every 
branch, bough, and leaf, the human nature of Jesus 
is the channel, by which Divinity sends life through- 
out our entire being, provided, we are engrafted into 
him, and bring forth fruit unto holiness. The branch 
united to the true vine — its leaf never withers. 

Among the objects beheld by John, on the Isle of 
Patmos, was a pure river of life, proceeding from the 
throne of God, and the Lamb ; in other words, a spir- 
itual Christ. On both sides of the river, he saw the 
tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, the leaves 
of which were for the healing of the nations ;. on one 
side the tree were the twelve patriarchs, from whose 
loins sprung the whole Jewish Church ; on the other 
side, the twelve apostles, from" the loins of whose 



Tree of Life.— Dangerous Rock. 239 

preaching, has sprung the Christian Church — a tree 
of life, the branches of which shall enlarge and spread, 
until Jusus shall reign King of nations, as he now 
does King of saints* So that you see the patriarchs 
were as diversified in their manner of promulgating 
truth, as the apostles. Just here is the rock on which 
the church has split in all ages. One person insists 
that all spiritual demonstrations shall correspond to 
his views, and tnat those who differ, must be stretched 
or shortened* so as to fit his iron bedstead. Isaiah 
might have no confidence in Jeremiah's religion , 
because he did not shout*, and scatter the seraphine 
lire from the old Gospel anvil ; and Jeremiah might 
have no confidence in Isaiah, because he shed no 
tears, and did not groan under the burdens of the 
Lord. Moses might find fault with David, because 
he danced before the ark ; and David with Moses, 
because he did not leap as a roe buck, at the smitten 
rock. But these diversities were pleasing to God, the 
Pharisaical reader to the contrary notwithstanding, 
who growled at, and quarreled with us, concerning 
these peculiarities, all the way through the Old Tes- 
tament, down to the day of Pentecost, when he had 
power given him, to break the shell of prejudice that 
imprisoned him, and now he is as free as a pigeon in 
the blue sky, and can shout from the tops of the 
mountains, and nothing but sin can offend him. 



24:0 The Model Kevival. 

We must now pass down through a long lane of dark- 
ness, to the days of Wesley. Wesleyanism we may 
well call a branch of renown. We will now see 
whether the peculiarities and adversities of gift con- 
tinue. If they are born of God, they will not change. 
We contend, that the day of Pentecost, was a model 
revival for all ages and denominations of the Church; 
and any departure from this model, is a removal of 
the old land marks. God commanded the prophet to 
rear an altar of huge rough stones, and forbade any 
man to apply a hammer or chisel, to knock off its 
rough corners ; but many, for the last eighteen hun- 
dred years have been endeavoring to polish and 
refine revivals of religion, so as to make them attrac- 
tive in the eyes of a fashionable world. A Pentecost 
that would make christians act like a rowdy mob, make 
them stagger and fall like drunken men, would be 
extremely offensive. While with one corner of his 
mouth, the Pharisee prays for a tongue of fire, with 
the other, he blows out every flame the Holy Ghost 
kindles. While he prays that the Spirit may come as 
a mighty rushing wind, he closes every door and win- 
dow of the soul, for fear that some one would be 
blown over in the gale. 

It has been supposed that Kev. John Wesley was 
opposed to those so-called extravagant peculiarities, 



Wesley not Deified. 241 

which occurred in his day. "What if he was ? It does 
not amount to a buck-wheat straw, if the Bible is 
against him. We stand upon the rock that men or 
devils cannot blow up. Were it otherwise, we would 
cast our manuscript to the flames, lay aside our old 
quill, and allow some Pharisee to apply the gag law ; 
but, while prophets and apostles endorse our paper, 
we will present it at the counter of free grace. 

There are very few men, to whose doctrines we so 
fully subscribe, as those of John Wesley ; but we do 
not intend to deify his bones, nor those of any other 
man. There are some things in his writings, that we 
repudiate. In revising the history of our life, we 
found many things that were erroneous, and which 
we were glad to kick out of doors ; especialy 
we were glad to obliterate forever, the record of pro- 
slavery principles, and objections to professing the 
work of holiness, in plain Bible language. So also, 
did John Wesley condemn and repudiate in his life- 
time, many of his own acts, as the pure light of exper- 
imental holiness increased within him. St. Paul said, 
when he was a child, he spake as a child, thought and 
understood as a child, but when he became a man, he 
put away childish things. Adam and Eve were per- 
fect from the first, and we might naturaly think, that 

St. Paul was also an adult Christian from his spirit- 
11 



24:2 Misrepresented.— Changs of "Views. 

ual birth ; but he tells us otherwise. Both Paul and 
Wesley were like Lazarus, when brought out of the 
grave of moral death. Lazarus was brought from 
death to life at the first loud call of the Savior. But 
he came forth with the grave clothes on him, and 
bound with a napkin. Christ spoke the second time 
before he was free indeed. "Wesley preached years, 
before he understood the new birth. He had, it is 
true, his Oxford sheep-skin, his silk gown> his long 
flowy periwig ; but he was no more a child of God, 
by adoption, than Saul of Tarsus, when persecuting 
the saints. It would be strange therefore, if he did 
not bring out of his grave, more or less of his Church 
of England notions, so much like the strong cords 
and napkins that bound Lazarus. But God spoke 
the second time, made him entirely free, sanctified 
him wholly ; and for years before his death, was an 
uncompromising advocate of the second specific 
blessing. 

In a few chapters, we will consdier the views of 
John Wesley, and let jxk own words refute our oppo 
nents. r 



CHAPTER THIRTY-SECOND. 



$ttkx-lmt tefessim 



In this chapter, we present an extract from Mr. 
"Wesley's journal, which confirms the views expressed 
in the latter part of the foregoing chapter. 

4 ' "We met at Fetter-lane, to humble ourselves before 
God, and own he had justly withdrawn his Spirit from 
us, for our manifold unfaithfulness. We acknowl- 
edged our having grieved him by our divisions ; "one 
saying, I am of Paul ; another, I am of Apollos : -' by 
our leaning again to our own works, and trusting in 
them, instead of Christ ; by our resting in those little 
beginnings of sanctincation, which it had pleased him 
to work in our souls ; and, above all, by blaspheming 
his work among us, imputing it either to nature, to the 
force of imagination and animal spirits, or even to the 
delusion of the devil. In that hour, we found God 
with us as at the first. Some fell prostrate upon the 



244 Extract. — Prayer for Pharisees. 

ground. Others burst out, as with one consent, into 
loud praise and thanksgiving. And many openly 
testified, there had been no such day as this since Jan- 
uary the first preceding." 

We believe, that if the spirit of John "Wesley had 
hold of our pen, he would say harder things than we 
are capable of saying, respecting his earlier views. 
Here is a full and hearty confession ; just such an one 
as we might expect from one who sees his sins, and 
earnestly desires to be saved from them. Christian 
ministers and laymen, at the present day, may think 
they are doing God services while laying hands on 
peculiar spiritual manifestations, fettered as they are 
by worldly policy, and half blinded by prejudice. 
God grant that they may find a Fetter-lane, where 
they may get the napkin and grave clothes off, and 
Jesus Christ speak the second time, loose him and let 
him go. Amen ! 

Let us now listen to the confession. We met, says 
Wesley, at Fetter-lane to humble ouselves. Nothing 
but an honest confession would answer. But what 
was the matter with the dear man and his associates? 
God had left them. They had grieved the Spirit, and 
were as empty shells, or tinkling cymbals. All that 
was left, were the Oxford sheep-skin, periwig, and 






Vain Hopes. 245 

silk gown. They confess divisions. Satan here plan- 
ted his cloven foot down among them. Another sin 
was leaning to their works, and, trusting in them, 
instead of Christ. Spiritual pride, like proud flesh in 
a wound, will always keep a raw sore, until some 
caustic is applied, which will eat it up ; then it may 
be mollified with ointment and healed. Application, 
after appreciation of hearty, repenting confession 
before God, upon their knees, is removing the proud 
flesh, and soon they will be made every whit whole. 

Another sin the Holy Ghost held up before them, 
like the hand writing on the wall. They had rested 
in the beginnings of sanctification, instead of going 
on to perfection. They place themselves among babes 
in Christ. They knew not what it was to be sanctified 
wholly and preserved blameless. The apostle declares 
such to be unskillful in spiritual things, unable always 
to discern the good from the evil. Before their vision 
becomes unclouded, they must be able to digest the 
strong meat in the Gospel, and partake freely of the 
corn and the wine of the Kingdom, which puts the 
power of judging, the fight and shout, into a Chris- 
tian. * 

But the most grievous sin confessed, the Beelzebub 
of the whole, remains to be noticed. They bias- 



24:6 Standing on the Threshold. 

phemed the work of God, imputing it to nature, the 
force of imagination, animal spirits, or even delusion 
of the Devil. Eev. John Wesley guilty of blas- 
phemy ! He says so himself, and we do not feel at 
liberty to dispute him — we cannot believe him a hyp- 
ocrite. But what constituted the blasphemy ? The 
very things the Pharisees did, in the days of Christ- 
They robbed God of his honor, Jesus Christ of his 
glory, and themselves and others, of the joys of par- 
don, holiness and heaven. They committed this rob- 
bery, when God's word was attributed to the impure 
and unrepudiated exhalations of man's nature, or to 
the wiles of the Adversary. The Pharisees said Christ 
cast out devil's by Beelzebub, the prince of devil's ; 
and in effect so said Wesley and his compeers. 

But they confess, and God fulfills his promise. " If 
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive 
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous- 
ness." The friends of Lazarus had to roll away the 
stone from the mouth of the sepulchre ; but it took 
Jesus to fire up his soul with new life. So Wesley 
and his coadjutors rolled away the stone, by hearty 
repentence, and Christ spoke the word that gave new 
life. Says Wesley, we found God with us at first. 
Some fell prostrate on the ground, others burst out 



Controversy with a D. D. 247 

with one consent in praise and thanksgiving, and 
many testified that no such time had been enjoyed 
since the first of January preceding. God grant that 
all opposers may come to some Fetter-lane, and be 
saved from their blasphemy, and experience a similar 
revival of the pure work of God — a whirlwind of the 
south, which shall thoroughly purge the threshing 
floor, and either sanctify the Bev. Dr. Uzzah, or 
send him to his own place. 

Not long since, we had a warm controversy with a 
minister of high standing in the Methodist Church, 
who imputed all outward demonstrations of the Spirit 
to the flesh. To use his own pure language, some 
brethren and sisters howl like wolves, and squeal like 
swine ; which peculiarities he could not look upon, 
with any degree of allowance. He insisted that the 
Holy Ghost never placed a person in an attitude that 
was not genteel and respectable. Here is a chance 
for a difference of opinion. Is respectability to be 
measured in God's half-bushel, or that of a proud and 
fashionable world ? St. Paul says, if we live after the 
flesh we shall die ; if, therefore, the Dr. is correct, 
these screamers and tumblers may know their awful 
end. But the apostle further says, that if through the 
Spirit we mortify the deeds of the flesh, we shall live. 



218 Blasphemy. 

Now we have yet to learn that worldly gentility ever 
mortified a proud heart, or humbled proud, looks and 
lofty imaginations. Nothing but some debasing prov 
idence, some sore and painful trial, will bend the knee 
of a proud heart. The intention of the Holy Spirit 
in producing these peculiar exercises, which cause 
pouting lips among the Pharisees, is to mortify and 
bring low, human pride. Let the world point the fin- 
ger of derision, we will, brethren and sisters, take the 
bitter pill prescribed by our great family physician. 
It will do us good. It will thoroughly purge us, and 
fit us for God and his service. 

Another objection the Dr. made to screaming, is, 
that it is not Bible language, as glory, halleluiah, and 
that it is impossible to understand it. The Dr. it 
appears, cannot understand a sound, except words are 
articulated. The trumpet does not articulate, but 
gives a certain sound, and in obedience to its clear, 
shrill tones, the fiery, deadly onset is made. Let the 
Dr. go back to the old corn-field, where, when a lad 
of seventeen, he was hoeing a long row of corn, in 
dog days, hungry and faint ; did he not understand 
the language of his mother's horn, as he listend to its 
welcome toot, toot, toot, as well as if it had said 
John, come to dinner? We imagine he did not com- 



The Call. 2^9 

plain that the noise was unintelligible, but dropped 
his hoe. and marched off in double quick time. As 
well might the country school-master, as he lets out 
his scholars, prescribe every tone and gesture, as for 
cold Pharisees to prescribe the manner in which the 
Spirit should manifest itself, in God's humble chil- 
dren. 



CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE. 



IMeg's $.te, fetoA 



In this chapter, we continue our extracts from the 
Journal of Mr. Wesley. He is now leaving the never 
to be forgotten prayer-meeting at Fetter Lane ; and 
now his course is like that of a comet, a stream of fire. 
"We shall be brief in our comments, for the extracts 
are alive and trumpet-tongued. The little army which 
he has gathered around him no longer blaspheme, but 
praise G^cl by platoons. They are now in the land of 
Beulah — a hilly country to be sure, but with a deep, 
fertile soil — its valleys well adapted for raising corn, 
and its slopes and mountains for vineyards. In this 
country, the inhabitants speak a pure language. The 
Prince of the country is a free-soiler. Its inhabitants 
are always in the light, for the sun and moon never 
go down. It lies between Doubting Castle and the 
Celestial City. Pilgrims on the road to Zion's city 



Quotation. 251 

never purchase anything at Yanity Fair ; but as they 
pass along are heard singing : 

" While to the world I live unknown, 
I all their goods despise ; 
I trample on their whole delight, 
And seek a city out of sight — 
A city in the skies." 

But we must proceed to the quotations. 

" I carefully examined those who had lately cried 
out in the congregation. Some of these, I found, could 
give no account at all, how or wherefore they had 
done so ; only that of a sudden they dropped down, 
they knew not how ; and what they afterward said or 
did, they knew not. Others could just remember, 
they were in fear ; but could not tell what they were 
in fear of. Several said, they were afraid ofthe devil ; 
and this was all they knew. But a few gave a more 
intelligible account of the piercing sense they then 
had of their sins, both inward and outward, which 
were set in array against them round about ; of the 
dread they were in of the wrath of God, and the pun- 
ishment they had deserved, into which they seemed 
to be just falling, without any way to escape. One 
of them told me, 1 1 was as if I was just falling down 
from the highest place I had ever seen. I thought the 
devil was pushing me off, and that God had forsaken 
me.' Another said, i I felt the very fire of hell already 
kindled in my breast ; and all my body was in as 
much pain as if I had been in a burning fiery furnace.' 
What wisdom is that which rebuketh these, that they 



252 HoRBIBLE OUTGBIES. 

' should hold their peace V Nay, let such a one cry 
after Jesus of Nazareth, till he saith, 'Thy faith hath 
made thee whole.' " 

Here is a class of convicts, whose awful outcries 
made it seem as if hell was moving to meet them at 
their coming, — who acknowledged their damnation 
would be just. Mr. Wesley carefully examined them, 
and remarks as to the results of his examination, 
" What wisdom is that which rebuketh these, that they 
should hold their peace ? Nay, let such a one cry after 
Jesus of Nazareth, till he sayeth, Thy faith hath made 
thee whole." Glory to God ! Mr. Wesley now endorses 
what he once repudiated. Horrible groanings, and 
screamings, are music in his ears ; and instead of 
rebuking, he prays ! that the lancet of conviction may 
be plunged to the hilt, until it finds the bottom of the 
corruption — that the Holy Ghost may rend the vail, 
and show poor sinners what a hell of iniquity their 
own hearts are. No wonder they cry as they come to 
the very gates of hell. They are like men aroused in 
the night, to find their dwellings and beds on fire. No 
Pharisee even would now step in and say, Hold your 
peace, stop your screaming ; indifference at such a 
time would be thought insanity. We pity the man 
that dare lay hands upon such convicts — that dare 
attempt to restrain the cries and abate their convic- 
tions. 



Quotation. 253 

c; Li the afternoon God was eminently present with 

us, though rather to comfort than convince. But I 
observed a remarkable difference, since I was here 
before, as to the manner of the work. None now were 
in trances, none cried out, none fell down or were 
convulsed : only some trembled exceedingly, a low 
murmur was heard, and many were refreshed with 
the multitude of peace. 

" The danger was, to regard extraordinary circum- 
stances too much, such as outcries, convulsions, visions, 
trances ; as if these were essential to the inward work, 
so that it could not go on without them. Perhaps the 
danger is, to regard them too little ; to condemn them 
altogether ; to imagine they 'had nothing of God in 
them, and were a hindrance to his work. Whereas 
the truth is, 1. God suddenly and strongly convinced 
many that they were lost sinners ; the natural conse- 
quence whereof were sudden outcries and strong bod- 
ily convulsions : 2. To strengthen and encourage 
them that believed, and to make his work more appar- 
ent, he favored several of them with divine dreams, 
others with trances and visions: 3. In some of these 
instances, after a time, nature mixed with grace : -l. 
Satan likewise mimicked this work of God, in order 
to discredit the whole work : and yet it is not wise to 
give up this part, any more than to give up the whole. 
At first it was, doubtless, wholly from God. It is 
partly so at this day; and he will enable us to discern 
how far, in every case, the work is pure, and where it 
mixes or degenerates. 



2M A Calm. 

" Let us even suppose that in some few cases there; 
was a mixture of dissimulation ; that persons pre- 
tended to see or feel what thej did not, and imitated 
the cries or .convulsive motions of those who were 
really overpowered by the Spirit of God : yet even 
this should not make us either deny or undervalue 
the real work of the Spirit." 

After the storm, then the calm. How terrible the 
howling of the storm-king, and how terrible the com- 
motion on the bosom of Genesareth; but when Jesus 
spake, old Boreas shut down his windows, and there 
was a great calm. So with the foregoing. The Spirit 
came like a tornado, ploughing into the very depths 
of the soul, causing it to cast up its mire and dirt of 
sin and wickedness. But when Jesus spake, the 
troubled soul was calm and peaceful. Mr. Wesley's 
congregation had got into green pastures, and by the 
side of tranquil waters. What more like heaven than 
the peace of God ? It is like a profound, ever-flowing 
river. Here the soul 

" Sits and sings, 
And practices her wings." 

This is one way God blesses. But remember, these 
various operations are from the same Spirit. God is 
in the work, whether it be the gentle zephyr, or the 
mighty rushing wind. In this quotation, Mr. Wesley 
very properly warns us of the danger of making a 



The Geeatee Daxgee. 255 

staff of peculiar exercises. lie says the danger was, 
in that; particular instance, to regard extraordinary 
circumstances too much, such as outcries, convulsions, 
visions, trances, as if they were essential to the inward 
work; but, he adds, perhaps the danger is, more fre- 
quently, to regard them too little, to condemn them 
altogether, and to imagine that God had nothing to 
do with them, and that they were a hindrance to the 
work. The oak overthrown by the wind may be as 
sound as those which remain standing. Let the skep- 
tic examine, its roots, as they stand upturned. They 
are expansive and strong, and he sees no fault. He 
stood and saw its branches waving in the wind, and 
finally come thundering, crashing down. He saw not 
the hi; had hold of it, but he knew there was 

an unseen power. Thus the Spirit prostrates the con- 
victed sinner, or humble believer, that skeptical sin- 
ners id ay be convinced of a supernatural power ; often 
for this purpose he uproots the strong oaks, and the 
tall cedars, on the mountains of his spiritual Lebanon. 
Doubtless millions in heaven date their conviction to 
such scenes. 

Mr. Wesley remarks that at first the work was 
wholly from God, but after a while the Devil began 
to throw out counterfeit bills. He never counterfeits 
a broken or spurious bank. But spurious bills or coin 



256 Counterfeits. 

will soon be detected by sanctified ears and eyes. But 
Mr. Wesley does not refuse and despise the good 
money, because Satan has put spurious money in cir- 
culation. He unequivocally endorses trances, visions, 
etc. And here he has rock to stand upon. It is writ- 
ten, " Your young men shall see visions, and your old 
men dream dreams." Before closing our remarks 
upon this extract, we would observe, Mr. Wesley says 
the first of these were wholly from God. Wise men 
change their minds, but fools, never. He here endorses 
and acknowledges to be wholly from God, what he 
formerly regarded from the flesh or the Devil. O 
Lord ! gather all who are in the fog into a Fetter Lane 
prayer-meeting, and free their worldly-wise and fet- 
tered souls. Amen ! 

"I immediately began reading prayers, and expound- 
ing the Second lesson, both in the morning and eve- 
ning. The morning service began at five, and ended 
at or before six : the evening service began at seven. 

"Kow, supposing all the grown persons in the town 
had been present every morning and evening, would 
this have made them idle '( Would they hereby have 
had less, or considerably more, time for working ? 

" 10. The same rule I follow now, both at London, 
Bristol, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne ; concluding the 
service at every place, winter and summer, before six 
in the morning ; and not ordinarily beginning to 
preach till near seven in the evening. 



Quotation. 257 

M Now, do you who make this objection work longer, 
throughout the year, than from six to six ? Do yon 
desire that the generality of people should? or can 
you count them idle that work so long ? 

" Some few are indeed accustomed to work longer. 
These I advise not to come on week-days; and it is 
apparent that they take this advice, unless on some 
rare and extraordinary occasion. 

" But I hope none of you who turn them out of then- 
employ ment have the confidence to talk of my making 
them idle! Do you (as the homely phrase is) cry 
wh — first? I admire your cunning, but not your 
modesty. 

" So far am I from either causing or encouraging 
idleness, that an idle person, known to be such, is not 
suffered to remain in any of our societies ; we drive 
him out, as we would a thief or a murderer. ' To 
show all possible diligence,' (as well as frugality,) is 
one of our standing rules ; and one, concerning the 
observance of which we continually make the strictest 
inquiry. 

" 11. c But you drive them out of their senses. You 
make them mad.' Nay, then they are idle with a 
vengeance. This objection, therefore, being of the 
utmost importance, deserves our deepest consideration. 

"And First, I grant, it is my earnest desire to drive 
all the world into what you probably call madness ; 
(I mean, inward religion ;) to make them just as mad 
as Paul when he was so accounted by Festns. 

"The counting all things on earth but dung and 
dross, so we may win Christ; the trampling under 



258 Quotation. 

foot all the pleasures of the world ; the seeking no 
treasure but in heaven ; the having no desire of the 
praise of men, a good character, a fair reputation; 
the being exceeding glad when men revile us, and 
persecute us, and say all manner of evil against 
us falsely ; the giving God thanks, when our father 
and mother forsake us, when we have neither food to 
eat, nor raiment to put on, nor a friend but what 
shoots out bitter words, nor a place where to lay 
our head : this is utter distraction in your account ; 
but in God's it is sober, rational religion ; the genuine 
fruit, not of a distempered brain, not of a sickly imag- 
ination, but of the power of God in the heart, of victo- 
rious love, ' and of a sound mind.' 
. " 12. I grant, Secondly, it is my endeavor to drive 
all I can into what you may term another species of 
madness, which is usually preparatory to this, and 
which I term repentance or conviction. 

" I cannot describe this better than a writer of our 
own has done. I will therefore transcribe his words : 

" ' When men feel in themselves the .heavy burden 
of sin, see damnation to be the reward of it, and 
behold with the eye of their mind the horror of hell ; 
they tremble, they quake, and are inwardly touched 
with sorrowfulness of heart, and cannot but accuse 
themselves, and open their grief unto Almighty God, 
and call unto him for mercy. This being done seri- 
ously, their mind is so occupied, partly with sorrow 
and heaviness, partly with an earnest desire to be 
delivered from this danger of hell and damnation, 
that all desire of meat and drink is laid apart, and 
loathsomeness (or loathing) of all worldly things and 
pleasure cometh in place. So that nothing then liketh 



Quotation. 259 

them, more than to weep, to lament, to mourn, and 
both with words and behavior of body to show them- 
selves weary of life.' 

" Now, what if your wife, or daughter, or acquaint- 
ance, after hearing one of these field preachers, should 
come and tell you, that they saw damnation before 
them, and beheld with the eye of their mind the hor- 
ror of hell ? What if they should ' tremble and quake,' 
and be so taken up 'partly with sorrow and heaviness, 
partly with an earnest desire to be delivered from this 
danger of hell and damnation, as to weep, to lament, 
to mourn, and both with words and behavior to show 
themselves weary of life ;' would you scruple to say, 
that they were stark mad; that these fellows had 
driven them out of their senses ; and that whatever 
writer it was that talked at this rate, he was fitter for 
Bedlam than any other place ? 

" You have overshot yourself now to some purpose. 
These are the very words of our own Church. You 
may read them, if you are so inclined, in the first part 
of the i Homily on Fasting.' And consequently, what 
you have peremptorily determined to be mere lunacy 
and distraction, is that ' repentance unto life,' which, 
in the judgment both of the Church and of St. Paul, is 
' never to be repented of.' 

" 13. I grant, Thirdly, that extraordinary circum- 
stances have attended this conviction in some instan- 
ces. A particular account of these I have frequently 
given. "While the word of God was preached, some 
persons have dropped down as dead ; some have been, 
as it were, in strong convulsions ; some roared aloud, 



260 Quotation. 

though, not with an articulate voice ; and others 
spoke the anguish of their souls. 

" This, I suppose, you believe to be perfect madness. 
But it is easily accounted for, either on principles of 
reason or Scripture. 

" First. On principles of reason. For, how easy is 
it to suppose, that a strong, lively, and sudden appre- 
hension of the heinousness of sin, the wrath of God, 
and the bitter pains of eternal death, should affect the 
body as well as the soul, during the present laws of 
vital union, should interrupt or disturb the ordinary 
circulations, and put nature out of its course! Yea, 
we may question, whether, while this union subsists, 
it be possible for the mind to be affected, in so violent 
a degree, without some or other of those bodily symp- 
toms following. 

" It is likewise easy to account for these things, on 
principles of Scripture. For when we take a view of 
them in this light, we are to add, to the consideration 
of natural causes, the agency of those spirits who still 
excel in strength, and, as far as they have, leave from 
God, will not fail to torment whom they cannot des- 
troy; to tear those that are coming to Christ. It is 
also remarkable, that there is plain Scripture prece- 
dent of every symptom which has lately appeared. 
So that we cannot allow even the conviction attended 
with these to be madness, without giving up both 
reason and Scripture. 

" 14. I grant, Fourthly, that touches of extravagance, 
bordering on madness, may sometimes attend severe 
conviction. And this also is easy to be accounted for. 



Quotation. 261 

by the present laws of the animal economy. For we 
know, fear or grief, from a temporal cause, may occa- 
sion a fever, and thereby a delirium. 

"It is not strange, then, that some, while under 
strong impressions of grief or fear, from a sense of the 
wrath of God, should for a season forget almost all 
things else, and scarce be able to answer a common 
question ; that some should fancy they see the flames 
of hell, or the devil and his angels, around them ; or 
that others, for a space, should be ' afraid,' like Cain, 
c whosoever meeteth me will slay me.' All these, and 
whatever "less common effects may sometimes accom- 
pany this conviction, are easily known from the natu- 
ral distemper of madness, were it only by this one 
circumstance,— that whenever the person convinced 
tastes the pardoning love of God, they all vanish away 
in a moment. 

" Lastly. I have seen one instance (I pray God I 
may see no more such !) of real, lasting madness. 

" Two or three years since, I took one with me to 
Bristol, who was under deep convictions ; but of as 
sound an understanding in all respects, as ever he had 
been in his life. 1 went a short journey, and, when I 
came to Bristol again, found him really distracted. I 
inquired particularly, at what time and place, and in 
what manner, this disorder began. And I believe 
there are at least threescore witnesses alive, and ready 
to testify what follows : When I went to Bristol, he 
contracted an acquaintance with some persons, who 
were not of the same judgment with me. He was 
soon prejudiced against me : quickly after, when oui 



262 Let XTzzah Bewake. 

society were met together in Kingswood house, he 
began a vehement invective both against my person 
and doctrines. In the midst of this, he was struck 
raving mad. And so he continued till his friends put 
him into Bedlam ; and probably laid his madness too 
to my charge." 

Let all revilers and modern Uzzahs beware how 
they lay hands on the ark of God, however shaken by 
the ox-cart, lest they find a Bedlam on earth or in hell. 
God will not make his faithful embassadors scape- 
goats for their iniquities. 



CHAPTER THIRTY-FOURTH. 



BBesbB's 9uM fettimttfr. 



"Sunday, May 20.— Being with Mr. B— 11 at Ev= 
erton, I was much fatigued and did not rise. But Mr* 
B. did, and observed several fainting and crying out 
while Mr. B— — e was preaching. Afterward, at 
church, I heard many cry out, especially children, 
whose agonies were amazing : one of the eldest, a girl 
ten or twelve years old, was full in my view, in vio- 
lent contortions of body, and weeping aloud, I think 
incessantly during the whole service. And several 
much younger children were in Mr. B — —IPs view, 
agonizing as this did. The church was equally crowd - 
ed in the afternoon, the windows being filled within 
and without, and even the outside of the pulpit to the 
very top ; so that Mr. B-— — e seemed almost stifled 
by their breath. Yet feeble and sickly as he is, he 
Was continually strengthened, and his voice for the 
most part distinguishable, in the midst of all the out- 
cries. I believe there were present three times more 
men than women, a great part of whom came from 



264 Extkact, Vol. iv. — Pages 25-27. 

far ; thirty of them having set out at two in the morn- 
ing, from a place thirteen miles off. The text was, 
'Having a form of godliness, but denying the power 
thereof.' When the power of religion began to be 
spoken of, the presence of God really filled the place. 
And while poor sinners felt the sentence of death in 
their souls, what sounds of distress did I hear ! The 
greatest number of them who cried or fell, were men ; 
but some women, and several children, felt the power 
of the same almighty Spirit, and seemed just sinking 
into hell. This occasioned a mixture of various 
sounds; some shrieking, some roaring aloud. The 
most general was a loud breathing like people half 
strangled and gasping for life. And indeed almost 
all the cries were like those of human creatures dying 
in bitter anguish. Great numbers wept without any 
noise ; others fell down as dead ; some sinking in si- 
lence ; some with extreme noise and violent agitation. 
I stood on the pew seat, as did a young man in the 
opposite pew, an able-bodied, fresh, healthy country- 
man. But in a moment, while he seemed to think of 
nothing less, down he dropped, with a violence incon- 
ceivable. The adjoining pews seemed shook with his 
fall. I heard afterwards the stamping of his feet, 
ready to break the boards, as he lay in strong convul-' 
sions, at the bottom ot the pew. Among several that 
were struck down in the next pew, was a girl who 

was as violently seized as him. When he fell, B 11 

and I felt our souls thrilled with a momentary dread ; 
as when one man is killed by a cannon ball, another 
often feels the wind of it. 



Extract, Yol. iv. — Pages 25-27. 265 

"Among the children who felt the arrows of the 
Almighty, I saw a sturdy boy, about eight years old, 
who roared above his fellows, and seemed in his ago- 
ny to struggle with the strength of a grown man. 
His face was red as scarlet ; and almost all on whom 
God laid his hand, turned either very red, or almost 
black. When I returned, after a little walk, to Mr. 
E e's house, I found it full of people. He was fa- 
tigued, but said he would nevertheless give them a 
word of exhortation. I stayed in the next room, and 
saw the girl whom I had observed so particularly dis-. 
tressed in the church, lying on the floor as one dead ; 
but without any ghastliness in her face. In a few 
minutes we were informed of a woman filled with 
peace and joy, who was crying out just before. She 
had come thirteen miles, and is the same person who 

dreamed Mr. B would come to her village on that 

very day whereon he did come, though without eith- 
er knowing the place or the way to it. She was con- 
vinced at that time. Just as we heard of her deliver- 
ance, the girl on the floor began to stir. She was 
then set in a chair ; and, after sighing a while, sud- 
denly rose up, rejoicing in God. Her face was cov- 
ered with the most beautiful smile I ever saw. She 
frequently fell on her knees, but w c r .s generally running 
to and fro, speaking these and the like words 'O what 
can Jesus do for lost sinners ! He has forgiven all 
my sins ! I am in heaven ! O how he loves me ! 
And how I love him !' Meantime I saw a thin, pale 
girl, weeping with sorrow for herself and joy for her 
companion. Quickly the smiles of Heaven came 
12 



266 Extract, Vol. iv. — Pages 25-27. 

likewise on her, and her praises joined with those of 
the other. I also then laughed with extreme joy ; so 

did Mr. B 11 ; (who said it was more than he could 

well bear;) so did all who knew the Lord, and some 
of those who were waiting for salvation ; till the cries 
of them who were struck with the arrows of convic- 
tion, were almost lost in the sounds of joy. 

"Two or three well-dressed young women, who 
seemed careless before, now felt the power of God, 

and cried out with a loud and bitter cry. Mr. B 

about this time retired, and the Duke of M— - — , with 

Mr. A 11, came in. They seemed inclined to make 

a disturbance, but were restrained, and in a short time 
quietly retired. We continued praising God with all 
our might ; and his work went on as when Mr. B-=- — 
was exhorting. I had for some time observed a young 
woman all in tears ; but now her countenance chang- 
ed. The unspeakable joy appeared in her face, which 
quick as lightning was filled with smiles, and became 
of a crimson color. About the same time Johu Keel- 
ing, of Potton, fell into an agony ; but he grew calm 
in about a quarter of an hour, though without a clear 
sense of pardon. 

"Immediately after, a stranger, well dressed, who 
stood facing me, fell backward to the wall ; then for- 
ward on his knees, wringing his hands, and roaring 
like a bull. His face at first turned quite red, then 
almost black. He rose, and ran against the wall, till 
Mr. Keeling and another held him. He screamed 
out, 'O what shall I do, what shall I do ? O for one 
d*op of the blood of Christ V As he spoke, God set 



Extract, Vol. iv.— Pages 25-27. 267 

his soul at liberty ; lie knew his sins were blotted out ; 
and the rapture he was in seemed too great for human 
nature to bear. He had come forty miles to hear 
Mr. B— — , and was to leave him the next morning \ 
which he did with a glad heart, telling all who came 
in his way, what God had done for his soul. I ob* 
served about the time that Mr. Coe (that was his 
name) began to rejoice, a girl, eleven or twelve years 
old, exceeding poorly dressed, who appeared to be as 
deeply wounded, and as desirous of salvation, as any. 
But I lost sight of her, till I heard the joyful sound of 
another born in Sion ; and found, upon inquiry, it was 
her, the poor, disconsolate, gypsey-looking child. 
And now did I see such a sight, as I do not expect 
again on this side eternity. The faces of the three 
justified children, and I think of all the believers 
present, did really shine : and such a beauty, such a 
look of extreme happiness, and at the same time of 
divine love and simplicity, did I never see in human 
faces until now. The newly justified eagerly embrac- 
ed one another, weeping on each other's necks for jo} r » 
Then they saluted all of their own sex, and besought 
both men and women to help them in praising God. 
"I have mentioned only one man, two women, and 
three children at this time justified in the house, but 
we have, perhaps, omitted some. And it is probable 
there was more than one justified at the church, 
though but one came to speak of it ; for all are not 
equally free to glorify God in the midst of his people. 
I wish all who find the same salvation with Mr. Coe, 
were as ready to proclaim redeeming love !" 






2G8 Wonderful Scene. 

A strange yet glorious scene ! The preacher is not 
disturbed by the various sounds that mingle and fill 
the air. He is strengthened as praise ascends from 
hundreds of voices like the curling smoke from the 
golden censor. Take heed, says Jesus, that you offend 
not one of these little ones that believe in me. "While 
the preacher was talking about the mere form of reli- 
gion, the mere shell, no fire fell ; but when he began 
to proclaim the power of God, then the quiver of the 
Almighty was shaken over these stout, athletic men, 
and out flew the arrows like forked lightning from the 
cloud that rested on the brow of Sinai. Like Moses, 
they feared and quaked, until a gentle voice from 
Mount Calvary fell upon their ear, saying look upon 
me and be ye saved. Amid the roar of the spiritual 
cannon, mingled with the screams of the wounded and 
•dying, the two generals stood, listening to the whis- 
tling bullets, and witnessing the death of the old Ad- 
am in many hearts. It was an awful but glorious 
spot. Terror and glory in their extremes ! 

"Christ wants no cowards in his band 

Who will their colors fly ; 
He calls for valiant hearted men, 

Who're not afraid to die." 

Behold what changes are here wrought. We see, 
not death, paleness, stragglings like those of a maniac 



"Another Sight." — Laj;gi;i:,g. Dlessikg. 

trying to leap through the walls of his prison; bnt 
faces gleaming with celestial radiance, leaping and 
dancing for joy, shouts of victory and praise. All 
classes are here. Old and young, wise and simple, 
upper- ten and ragged gipsey, all unite to praise and 
glorify God. All are brought by the gospel to a wa- 
ter level. Behold the young converts. But a few 
hours before, they were grievously tormented by the 
departing devil, but now they are embracing each 
other, and calling on all to help praise God. Glory 
to God ! Let the echo fly ! They did not Tv ait for 
an introduction to one another, according to a French 
dancing masters etiquette. They were like little 
children, embracing and loving each other. 

But let us look after the two preachers. How does 
it effect their dignity \ especially brother "Wesley ? 
Both of them were ready to split their sides with 
laughter. Their laughter was extreme, so great was 
their joy. In modern phrase it must have been a 
horse laugh. It is very likely Mr. Wesley, as he 
married one of Saul's daughters, took a gentle curtain 
lecture after he got home, as did his predecessor, "King 
David, for dancing before the ark ; but both had rock 
to stand upon and were not moved. It is written. I 
will turn back their captivity and fill their month 
with laughter. Again, praise him in the dance. 



270 Experience. 

Never shall we forget how the laughing of the 
saints grated on our ears before we were converted ; 
but our captivity was turned back, our burden re- 
moved, and our mouth was filled with loud laughter, 
while lying on our bed in Franklin County, Pennsyl- 
vania, sixteen years ago, the tenth of August, about 
one o'clock in the morning ; so loud that a slumber- 
ing encampment was aroused, and the saints gathered 
around the tent door to join their voices in praise to 
the God of our salvation. It was probably ten min- 
utes before we could articulate ; then the word glory 
rolled out like hot bomb-shells from a mortar, exploded 
in the eamp, and set all on fire. Next morning I was 
told by a sister that her aunt, a sober sided Presbyte- 
rian, exclaimed, as she heard our laughter : — Poor 
Captain Henry ! He has become a maniac. His deep 
sorrow has finally dethroned his reason. I replied, 
as the sister related this, that I had lost my old carnal 
mind, and had received the mind which was in Jesus. 
This brought forth another volley of laughter from 
the depths of our soul ; and hundreds of times, like 
Mr. Wesley and his friend, we have been so filled, as 
the tide of glory rolled in, that we could do nothing 
else but laugh, The sight of gibbets, racks, and flam- 
ing martyr's fires could not have stopped us. Amen I 
Halleluiah I 



CHAPTER THIRTY-FIFTH. 



SSedgfs Wutto fci«fc. 



"Query 1. Whether a clue and regular attendance on 
the public offices of religion, paid in a serious and 
composed way, by good (that is, well meaning) men, 
does not answer the true ends of devotion. 

Answer. I suppose, by devotion, you mean public 
worship ; by the true ends of it, the love of God and 
man ; and by a due and regular attendance on the 
public offices of religion, paid in a serious and com- 
posed way, the going as often as we have opportunity 
to our parish church, and to the sacrament there ad- 
ministered. If so. the question is, whether this atten- 
dance on those offices does not produce the love 
of God and man. I answer, sometimes it does; and 
sometimes it does not, 1 myself thus attended them 
for many years ; and } T et am conscious to myself that 
during that whole time I had no more of the love of 
God than a stone. And I know many hundreds, per- 
haps ihousands, of serious persons, who are ready to 
testify the same thing. 



272 Extkact, Pages 45-46, Vol. v. 

Q. 2. But is not this a better evidence of the co- 
operation of the Holy Spirit, than those sudden ag- 
onies ? 

A. All these persons, as well as I, can testify also, 
that this is no evidence at all of the co-operation of the 
Holy Spirit. For some years I attended these public 
offices, because I would not be punished for non-attend- 
ance. And many of these attended them, because 
their parents did before them, or because they would 
not lose their character : many more, because they 
confounded the means with the end, and fancied this 
opus operation [mere performance] would bring them 
to heaven. How many thousands are now under this 
strong delusion ! Beware, you bring not their blood 
on your own head ! 

Q. 3. However, does not this attendance better an- 
swer those ends, than those roarings, screamings, &c? 

A. I suppose you mean, better than an attendance 
on that preaching, which has often been accompanied 
with these. 

I answer, (l.) There is no manner of need to set the 
one in opposition to the other; seeing we continually 
exhort all who attend on our preaching to attend the 
offices of the Church. And they do pay a more reg- 
ular attendance there than ever they did before. (2.) 
Their attending ihe Church did not, in fact, answer 
those ends at all till they attended this preaching also. 
(3.) It is the preaching of remission of sins through. 
Jesus Christ, which alone answers the true ends of de- 
votion. And this will always be accompanied with 
the co-operation of the Holy Spirit; though not al« 



Wesley's Moealitf. 273 

ways with sudden agonies, roarings, screamings, trem- 
blings, or droppings down. Indeed, if God is pleased 
at any time to permit any of these, I cannot hinder 
it. Neither can this hinder the work of his Spirit in 
the soul ; which may be carried on either with or 
without them. But, (4.) I cannot apprehend it to be 
any reasonable proof, that " this is not the work of 
God," that a convinced sinner should "fall into an 
extreme agony, both of body and soul;" {^Journal iii, 
p. 26 ;) that another should " roar for the disquietness 
of her heart ;" (p. 40 ;) that others should scream or 
"cry with a loud and bitter cry, 'what must we do 
to be saved V " (p. 50 ;) that others should " exceed- 
ingly tremble and quake ;" (p. 58 ;) and others, in a 
deep sense of the majesty of God, " should fall pros- 
trate upon the ground." (p. 59.) 

Indeed, by picking out one single word from a sen- 
tence, and then putting together what you had glean- 
ed in sixty or seventy pages, you have drawn a terri- 
ble group for them who look no further than those 
two lines in the " Observations.'* But the bare addi- 
tion of half a line to each word, just as it stands in 
the place from which you quoted it, reconciles all both 
to Scripture and reason ; and the spectre form vanish- 
es away." — Yol. v, p. 45-46. 

An important question is here decided. What nails 
the thing to the counter is, that Mr. Wesley brings in 
his own experience. If salvation could have been by 
works, he no doubt would have received it. He was 
probably as moral a young man as the young man in 



274 Religion, So-called. 

the Gospel, to whom the Savior said, one thing thou 
lackest. Highly educated and polished, he mounted 
the pulpit with perriwig and silk gown, and read pray- 
ers well fixed up by the printer, and then read his 
foolscap from firstly to lastly, and dreamed of heaven. 
Terrible thought. All this was done with a heart as 
destitute as a stone of true, flaming love. If one class 
more than another will be terror-stricken in the judg- 
ment, it will be those whose hopes have been raised 
as high as heaven, but who must be thrust down to 
hell. Like the poisonous vine they twined around the 
sturdy oak, and rested on its strong branches, without 
partaking of its life-giving sap. Dead professors sleep 
in the arms of the church without partaking of the 
true life of Christ. Had Mr. Wesley fallen by the 
hand of death at this period, he would have been eu- 
logized in his funeral sermon, as one of the tallest 
saints of earth ; but his home, according to his own 
views, would have been in hell. O Lord, arouse the 
sleeping virgins before the Bridegroom cometh. The 
world's perfection is made up of three things: do no 
harm to your neighbors, do them all the good you 
can, and join the church, and pay, pray, preach and 
commune. If any man can discover with a micro- 
scope one thread of fine linen or the righteousness of 
Christ in this kind of piety, he will be entitled to a 



As God Pleases — a Storm or Calm. 275 

patent as the first discoverer of a way of getting to 
heaven on the second table of the law, while neglect- 
the first great commandment. 

Another point in this extract is, that outward dem- 
onstrations are not essential to salvation ; that God can 
save in a calm as well as in a storm. Yet, adds Mr. 
Wesley, if he pleases to let fly the tornado as in the 
day of Pentecost, I cannot help it. lie speaks from 
experience. Perhaps none were more strongly op- 
posed than he to these manifestations, at first. But 
the Fetter Lane prayer meeting settled that matter 
between him and God. After that time he did not 
spend his time in laying blocks in the way of the old 
Gospel engine ; on the contrary, he raised his warn- 
ing voice against all ministers and laymen who dared 
to raise their voices against these things. Palsied will 
be the arm that opposes God, or quenches the Spirit. 
We venture to say that there are thousands in and out 
of our Zion who had rather run the risk of perdition 
than be exercised as your humble author has frequent- 
ly been; and there are many professors who will do 
more to put down such things, than to check sin and 
save souls. May God have mercy on them. Amen ! 
With this volume we shake the dust off our feet as a 
warning to them. 

We have now followed Mr. Wesley farther than is re- 



276 Extract, Yol. vii, Page 502. 

ally necessary. "We have seen eye to eye; and we have 
the prophets and apostles to endorse us, and also the 
Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. We therefore, af- 
ter noticing in another chapter certain misrepresenta- 
tions of Mr. Wesley's views, pass along our contem- 
plated journey. We will conclude this chapter by 
quoting a few lines from page 502, vol. 7, where he 
sums up the whole matter and dismisses it. 

"Upon the whole, I declare once for all, (and I hope 
to be troubled no more upon the subject,) I look upon 
some of those bodily symptoms to have been preter- 
natural or diabolical, and others to have been effects 
which in some circumstances naturally followed from 
scrong and sudden emotions of mind. Those emo- 
tions of mind, whether of fear, sorrow, or joy, I be- 
lieve were chiefiy supernatural, springing from the 
.gracious influences of the Spirit of God which accom- 
panied his word." 



CHAPTEE THIRTY-SIXTH. 



psupescntitions of SBesUg, 



A few months ago, there appeared in the, Xorthern 
Independent a long string of quotations from the works 
of John Wesley, said to have been selected by a Uni- 
versalis!, which appear to condemn everything like 
shouting, falling, etc. Very soon after, there appear- 
ed, in the same paper, over the signature of Iiev. D. 
W. Thurston, Presiding Elder of Cortland District, 
Oneida Conference, another list of quotations, which 
strongly approve what in the first quotations seems to 
be disapproved. The quotations seem- as unlike as sin 
and holiness. John TTesley his own bitterest antago- 
nist ! "We cannot pass from the consideration of Air. 
"Wesley's views, without noticing these misrepresen- 
tations, which have been so extensively read through- 
out the country. "We shall endeavor to say no hard- 
er things about this Usiversalist than he deserves. 



278 Misrepresentations of Wesley. 

The first two quotations of our Universalist friend, 
are as follows : 

" I told George Bell what I did not admire, namely, 
liis screaming now and then in so strange a manner." 
Yol. iv, p. 142. 

" I had a second opportunity to hear. Saw no cause 
to hinder him. I heard George Bell once more, and 
was convinced he must not pray at the Foundry. The 
reproach of Christ I am willing to bear, but not the 
reproach of enthusiasm, if I can help it." — p. 143. 

These extracts are garbled, and fail to give Mr. Wes- 
ley's meaning. He seems here to condemn all scream- 
ing, and to brand as enthusiasm everything of the 
kind. But such is not the case. We will quote Mr. 
Wesley's own words. 

" Being determined to hear for myself, I stood where 
I could hear and see, without being seen. George 
Bell prayed, in the whole, pretty near an hour. His 
fervour of spirit I could not but admire. I afterward 
told .him what I did not admire; namely, 1. His 
screaming every now and then, in so strange a manner, 
that one sould scarce tell what he said : 2. His think- 
ing he had the miraculous discernment of spirits : and, 
3. His sharply condemning his opposers." — Yol. iv, 
p. 142. 

The second quotation is garbled worse than the 
first. We have not space to quote largely. It will 
be enough to say that it is composed of four senten- 



Misrepresentations of Wesley. 279 

ces, which are selected from three-fourths of a closely 
printed page of a large octavo volume, and are inge- 
niously put together to serve the compiler's purpose. 
It is nearly as bad as a false quotation. 

It might appear at first sight that Mr. Wesley does 
condemn all screaming. But remember whom he 
condemns. By reference to page 140 and 141 we 
have the character of the condemned at length. 
George Bell and others had fallen into the most enthu- 
siastic doctrines. They supposed a person might be- 
come as perfect as an angel ; might become absolute- 
ly perfect ; be infallible, and above temptation. They 
depreciated justification. They taught that persons 
sanctified need no longer look to Jesus, and had no 
need of self-examination and private prayer. And 
their deportment in many respects was as scandalous 
as their views. They were filled with pride, were 
wanting in meekness, were impatient of contradiction, 
and were censorious. If these were their views, and 
if such was their deportment, it was correct in Wes- 
ley to conclude that they had mistaken the work of 
the imagination for the voice of the Spirit, and were 
diseased with enthusiasm of a malignant type. The 
errors of George Bell, and the defects in his charac- 
ter, gave character to his religious exercises ; and Wes- 
ley, always quick to detect the counterfeit, at once 
pronounced against them. The propriety of our in- 



280 Misrepresentations of Wesley. 

terpretation will be seen when it is remembered that 
elsewhere he condemns not the screams, but those who 
opposed and derided them. Remember, reader, the 
extended extracts in former chapters. 

The third quotation, from p. 151, is as follows : 
"The wildness of our poor brethren in London has 
put it (Christian Perfection) out of countenance above 
iwo hundred miles off; so these strange advocates 
for perfection have given it a deeper wound than all 
its enemies together could do ! 

No wonder that Christian Perfection was disgraced, 
when George Bell, Tho's Maxfield, and their associates, 
were regarded as its representatives. 

The next quotation is from p. 157 : 

"The bodies of two or three, sometimes ten ortwelve, 
are violently agitated ; and they leap up and down, in 
all manner of postures, frequently for hours together. 
I think there needs no great penetration to understand 
this. They are honest, upright men, who really feel 
the love of God in their hearts. But they have little 
experience, either of the ways of God, or the devices 
of Satan. So he serves himself of their simplicity, in 
order to wear them out, and to bring a discredit on 
the work of God." 

This, as the connection shows, refers to the Welsh 
Jumpers. Our next chapter will give an account of 
them ; we will therefore pass them with a single re- 
mark. We think Mr. Wesley in error. His judg- 






MISREPRESENTATIONS OF WESLEY. 281 

ment is safe respecting what passes under his own ob- 
servation ; but in regard to the work in Wales, we pre- 
fer the testimony of persons on the ground. 

Again our friend garbles : 

" The work was greater and more pure in Dublin 
than in London, because there were no whimsical or 
enthusiastical persons ; all were calm and sober-mind- 
ed."— p. 132. 

There will be no need of a comment, after giving 
the words of Mr. Wesley. What shall we say of a 
man who quotes thus ? 

" In some respects the work of God in this place 
was more remarkable than even that in London. — 
1. It is far greater, in proportion to the time, and to 
the number of people. That society had above seven- 
and-twenty hundred members ; this not a fifth part of 
the number. 'Six months after the flame broke out 
there, we had about thirty witnesses of the great sal- 
vation. In Dublin there were above forty in less than 
four months. 2. The work was more pure. In all 
this time, while they were mildly and tenderly treat- 
ed, there were none of them headstrong or unadvisa- 
ble ; none that were wiser than their teachers ; none 
who dreamed of being immortal or infallible, or inca- 
pable of temptation ; in short, no whimsical or enthu- 
siastic persons ; all were calm and sober-minded." — 
Yol. iv, p. 132. 

Next extract from Yol. iv, p. 631 : 

" Satan strives to push many of them to extrava- 



232 Misrepresentations of Wesley. 

gance. This appears in several instances : — 1. Fre- 
quently three or four, yea, ten or twelve, pray aloud 
all together. 2. Some of them, perhaps many, scream 
all together as loud as they possibly can. 3. Some of 
them use improper, yea, indecent, expressions in pray- 
er. 4. Several drop down as dead ; and are as stiff 
as a corpse ; but in a while they start up, and cry, 
c; Glory! glory ! perhaps twenty times together. Just 
so do the French prophets, and very lately the Jump- 
ers in Wales bring the real work into contempt." 

Ilis reference to the Welsh Jumpers we dispose of 
as above. The French prophets will be referred to in 
a subsequent chapter, and hence passed by for the 
present. Our concern is not so much to justify the 
jumpers and prophets, as peculiar exercises in gener- 
al. This passage seems to go against all extraordina- 
ry manifestations. Really it does not. " While they 
are full of love, Satan strives to push many of them 
into extravagance." ISTot at all strange. He would 
do this, 1. by leading them to value these extraordina* 
ry manifestations too highly, and 2. thus leading them 
to strive for them as an end, rather than be content, 
with or without them, if true holiness only is obtain- 
ed. 3. This would occasion a resort to them as a 
means of obtaining God's blessing, in which case they 
are man-made. The devil would be very glad to get 
all into this extravagance. He has an inveterate dis- 
like of the true coin, and delights to steal it away and 



MlKKKPKKSEHTATKHJra OF WESLEY. 283 

substitute the bogus. TVe condemn such extravagance, 
and we believe this is what Air. Wesley condemns. 
It is seeking salvation by works. It is a mistaken idea 
that loud prayers, etc., secure the blessing. The true 
process : 1. simple faith in Jesus ; 2. the baptism of 
■fire ; 3. then the loud halleluiahs, etc. That this is 
precisely Air. "Wesley's view we might show by many 
quotations ; we refer only to one : '' The danger was 
(in that particular instance.) to regard extraordinary 
circumstances too much, such as outcries, convulsions, 
visions, trances ; as if these were essential to the in- 
ward work, so that it could not go on without them. 
Perhaps the danger is (more frequently) to regard them 
too little; to condemn them altogether; to imagine 
thev had nothing of God in them, and were a bin- 
drance to his work."' 

A^ain our orarbler: 

" Scream no more, at the peril of your soul. God 
now warns you by me. I never scream, I never strain 
myself ; I dare not : I know it would be a sin against 
God and my own soul !" — Vol. vii, p. 13. 

Here is a collection of sentences gleaned and ar- 
ranged to suit the demand, and so nicely separated 
from evervthins: that fixes the real meaning of T\Tes- 
ley, that the purpose of the compiler is met. It shows 
one thing that he did not probably intend to have un- 
derstood, and that is, that he is either reckless in re- 



284 Misrepresentations of Wesley. 

gard to truth, or possesses no more than his share of 
sense. The letter was written to Mr. John King, a 
preacher in America. It does not refer at all to the 
exercises of worshippers, but refers to loud, vehement 
preaching. He means to say that a person cannot kill 
himself without periling his soul ; and refers to Tho's 
"Walsh and John Manners, who were in " grievous 
darkness before they died, because they shortened 
their lives." 

" Some very unstill sisters, who always took care to 
stand near me, and tried who could cry loudest, since 
I have had them removed out of my sight, have 
been as quiet as lambs. The first night I preached 
here, half my words were lost through the noise of 
their outcries ; last night, before I began, I gave pub- 
lic notice that whosoever cried so as to drown my 
voice, should, without any man's hurting or judging 
them, b% gently carried to the farthest corner of the 
room ; but my porters had no employment the whole 
night." — Whitehead's Life of Wesley, p. 1 52. 

We can scarcely restrain our indignation while read- 
ing these extracts. Charles Wesley — these are his 
words, — abhorred counterfeits ; and so do we. Pre- 
vious to the words above quoted there is an account 
of the detection of counterfeits. These sisters were 
such, or were regarded as such, and very properly re- 
strained. But we are speaking of John Wesley's views 
and will dwell no longer on this quotation. 



Misrepresentations of Wesley. 285 

" Speaking of bodily emotions of various kinds, 
Wesley says ; ' I always ascribe these symptoms to 
Satan tearing them.' "—Vol. 7, p. 501. 

These words are taken from a letter to a Dr. Ruth- 
erforth, which contains this paragraph which we here 
quote, although quoted in a former chapter : 

" Upon the whole, I declare once for all, (and I hope 
to be troubled no more upon the subject,) I look upon 
some of those bodily symptoms to have been preter- 
natural or diabolical, and others to have been effects 
which in some circumstances naturally followed from. 
strong and sudden emotions o"f mind. Those emotions 
of mind, whether of fear, sorrow, or joy, I believe 
were chiefly supernatural, springing from the gracious 
influences of the Spirit of God which accompanied 
his word." — Vol. vii, p. 502. 

Now, reader, what do you think of a man who can 
thus misrepresent an author ? and what do you think 
of a doctrine that requires such misrepresentation to 
sustain it? 

"There is a fervor which has passed for devotion, 
but it is not true nor Scriptural devotion. It is ; loud 
shouting, horrid, unnatural screaming, repeating the 
same words twenty or thirty times, jumping two or 
three feet high, throwing about the arms and legs, 
both of men and women, in a manner shocking not 
only to religion, but to common decency.' " — Tol. ii, 

p. 444:. 

The quotation fails to show the precise intention of 



280 Misrepresentations of Wesley. 

the author ; but our Universalist friend has done very 
well this time. The extract shows Mr. Wesley's ab- 
horrence of everything hypocritical ; how jealous he 
was of every departure from simple faith. He would 
not have christians act like priests of Baal on Mount 
Carmel, in order to get the fire ; but like Elijah, whose 
faith in his God brought the fire down which consum- 
ed the sacrifice. But when the fire falls, what then ? 
Would he have us cold as statues ? restrain us from 
any demonstration of joy ? He would not, as the ex- 
tracts in former chapters' show. 

The last quotation : 

" I dislike, 1, The speaking or praying of several at 
once. 2. Praying to the Son of God only, or more 
than to the Father. 3. The using improper expres- 
sions in prayer. 4. The using poor, flat, bald hymns. 
5» Those never kneeling in prayer. (They sat on the 
floor.) 6. Your using postures or gestures highly in- 
decent. 7. Your screaming, even so as to make the 
words unintelligible. 8. Your affirming people will 
be justified or sanctified just now. 9. The affiiming 
they are what they are not. 10. The bidding them 
say, * I believe.' 11. The bitterly condemning any 
that oppose, calling them wolves, etc., and pronounc- 
ing them hypocrites, or not justified 1" — Wesley's let- 
ter to Messrs. Maxfield, Bell, and Owen, vol. iv, p. 140. 

This is leveled against George Bell, Tho's Maxfield, 
and others, to whom we have already referred. Wo 



Misrepresentations op "Wesley. 287 

will take up the items in this paragraph and give a 
brief comment on each : 

1. "The speaking or praying of several at once." 
Mr. Wesley's words are, " the singing, or speaking, or 
praying of several at once*" Our friend, the garbler 
had to skip a little. Does Mr. Wesley condemn ma* 
ny singing together at the same time ? lie certainly 
does, if he condemns the offering of many prayers at 
the same time. We must not make Mr. "Wesley a 
fool. "His extreme brevity renders him obscure; but 
he probably condemns singing, speaking, and praying 
all at once. Many a time has he heard, only to com- 
mend, hundreds of saints and sinners praying at the 
same moment. 

2. " Praying to the Son of God only, or more than 
to the Father." True. We may pray to the Sen ; 
but in general we should pray to the Father in the 
Son's name. 

3. "The using improper expressions in prayer." 
Our garbler leaves out the words, " sometimes too 
bold, if not irreverent ; sometimes too pompous and 
magnificent, extolling yourselves rather than God, and 
telling what you are, not what you want." Our friend 
takes especial care that Mr. Wesley's real meaning is 
kept in the dark ; he does not care to have us know 
precisely who and what he disapproves. 



288 * Misrepresentations of "Wesley. 

4. " The using poor, flat, and bald hymns." In our 
view no hymn is poor, flat, and bald, that stirs and 
blesses the soul. Mr. Wesley was a greater stickler for 
choice poetry — poetry approved by the critical and 
cultivated tastes, than we are. 

5. " Those never kneeling in prayer (they sat on 
the floor) " Mr. Wesley only says, " the never kneel- 
ing in prayer." Our friend can add to, as well as sub- 
tract from, when necessary to his purpose. We be- 
lieve in kneeling, and therefore entirely agree' with 
Mr. "Wesley. 

C. " Tour using postures or gestures highly inde- 
cent." All right. But before our friend makes any- 
thing out of it he will have to give specifications. 

7. " Your screaming even so as to make the words 
unintelligible." The peculiarities of George Bell, here 
denounced, we cannot fully know ; but that Mr. Wes- 
ley condemns all outcries, or screams, is not true. In 
another place he sajs, in reference to outcries in the 
congregation, " what wisdom is that which rebuketh 
these, that they 'should hold their peace'?" 

8. "Your affirming people will be justified or sanc- 
tified just now." George Bell and his confederates 
were not sound in doctrine. But our friend wishes to 
make Mr. Wesley here condemn what he elsewhere 
teaches. lie does not oppose here the faith which 



Misrepresentations of "Wesley. 2S9 

says, Lord, I believe. In a letter written two years 
after the words were penned npon which we are com- 
menting, he speaks thus: ""What is time necessary 
for? It must be either to do or to suffer. Whereas, 
if nothing be required but simple faith, a moment is 
as good as an age." — Yol. 7, p. 14. 

9. "The affirming they are what they are not." 
Those who do it are either deceived or hypocrites. 
There were some of both anions those whom Weslev 
condemns. 

10. "The bidding them say ' I believe,'" before 
they are prepared for it. Faith has its conditions. 
These conditions met, Mr. Wesley and the Savior en- 
courage to ' believe that we receive.' 

11. " The bitterly condemning any that oppose, call- 
ing them wolves, &c, and pronouncing them hypo- 
crites or not justified." To rebuke sin is a duty. Head 
Wesley's sermon on The Duty of reproving our Neigh- 
bor: But censoriousness, that is, rebuking or condemn- 
ing in a bitter, unloving spirit, is wrong. 

What now is the conclusion of the whole matter? 
We answer : 

1. Wesley countenances all genuine spiritual dem- 
onstrations, however extraordinary, such as prostra- 
tions, cries of terror, and shouts of praise, and con- 
13 






250 Misrepresentation's of Wesley. 

demns all who oppose and ridicule them. We believe 
we have given the evidence in these pages. 

2. He was quick to detect and severe to condemn 
the counterfeits of Satan and weak persons* 

3. That in the warmth of his zeal against the false, 
he sometimes expresses himself in a manner which 
seems to disparage the true. In a few instances we 
think he wrongfully condemns ; but on the main ques- 
tion we believe him right. 



CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVENTH. 

SSels| jumping. 

After bidding farewell to Rev. John 'Wesley, permit 
us to introduce the Rev. Christmas Evans, a Calvin- 
istic Baptist, who figured in Wales about forty or fifty 
years ago. lie was to the Baptists in Wales what 
Wesley was to the Methodists. He was blessed with 
nore eye than the author of this work. In a two- 
fold sense he might be said to have a single eye — one 
single natural eye, and an eye single to the glory of 
God. His thoughts found in his sermons, and extracts 
from his other writings, are like sparks that flv from 
the anvil. They are light and heat to the souls of 
men. • 

But we must hasten on ; our limits will only per- 
mit us to make him a Paul Pry call. 

It is said that at one time Mr. Evans was conversing 
with a group of English ministers concerning the 



292 Christmas Evans. —Welsh Jumping. 

lesser and greater lights in the Gospel ministry, when 
he was rallied with the combustible nature of his 
"Welsh brethren. True, said Mr. Evans, while an 
Englishman is lighting his pipe, a Welshman will set 
the world on fire ; assigning as a reason, their superior 
spirituality and eloquence. The nettled Englishman 
then accused him of being a Welsh Jumper. Yes, he 
a replied, you would jump, too, if you had such preach- 
ing as we have — preaching that makes every precious 
promise a telescope which brings the glittering crown 
of righteousness so near that you could touch it. 

We now give an extract which contains Mr. Evans 5 
views on 

WELSH JUMPING. 

"In the autumn of 1829, Mr. Evans wrote in his 
diary extensive notes of a conversation which he had 
with several ministers in Bristol, on * the manner of 
religious rejoicing so remarkable among the Welsh.' 
His friends condemned it in a sweeping sentence, un- 
der the name of ' Welsh jumping.' Mr. Evans at- 
tempted its vindication. We insert his own account : 

"I observed that I could find no account of it 
among the Welsh until the time of Harris and Row- 
lands, Calvinistic Methodists, who flourished in Wales 
about the same time as Whitefield and Wesley in 
England. The preaching of these men was the means 
of producing a religious revival throughout all the 



Welsh Jumping. 293 

principality, which had sunk into a state of deep leth- 
argy, since the time of the great awakening under 
Vavasor Powell, about one hundred years before. At 
this period nothing was to be seen in almost every 
parish but young men and young women flocking to- 
gether into the churches and ch arch-yards, and en- 
gaging in different gambols and pastimes, such as ball- 
playing, foot-ball, leaping, fighting, and such like 
frolics, as if Wales had been changed into an Olympic 
mountain, and old paganism restored again. It is 
true, there were some preachers and churches, both 
Congregationalist and Baptist, then existing in the 
principality ; but their talents, their spirits, or their 
magnanimity could not storm such a fortress of im- 
piety. And, besides, there was a dreadful prejudice 
still remaining in the country against all sects, since 
the days of Charles II. ; and they suffered persecution 
even unto blood, for about one hnndred } ears previ- 
ous to the appearing of these men. But from the 
ashes of those sufferers the revival by Harris and 
Rowlands sprung up, as did Luther from the ashes of 
Huss.and Jerome of Prague. 

" Mr. Rowlands and Mr. Harris were both of the 
communion of the Episcopal church, and, as such, 
there was not so much enmity against them at first ; 
but after they had come out, and when the people 
understood that they were preachers of the cross of 
Christ, considerable persecution arose against them 
from the multitude ; but it was now too late — for the 
gates of the city were opened — the leaven was put in 



294: Welsh Jumping. 

the meal— the fire had been kindled — the sword was 
drawn from the scabbard, and many had been wound- 
ed, (spiritually,) and were ready to open the door for 
the gospel in spite of every danger. Harris, Eow- 
lands, and the two Williams, had been clothed with 
power from on high, and the hammer of their ministry 
was sufficiently heavy to break in pieces the northern 
iron.* Several laymen of powerful minds were also 
raised up aboui this time ; such as Mr. David Morris, 
and others, who were valuable auxiliaries to carry on 
tire work. By their ministry, this praising and jump- 
ing in religious enjoyment began in Wales, which lias 
not wholly left it on certain occasions until this day. 

" As an apology for them, granting at the same 
time the possibility of extremes even in a good cause 
in the present state ; and that graceless persons may 
feel something from these excitements as of the pow- 
ers of the world to come, in the miraculous gifts of 
the Holy Ghost in the apostolic age ; observe, 

"1. That it appears to me like the residue of the 
Spirit, and the powers of the world to come; which 
were necessary to open a way for the gospel through 
the darkness and obduracy of paganism in the days 
of the Apostles. 

"2. It is no argument of importance against it, that 
many graceless persons felt a considerable degree of 
influence at the time, as well as others ; for so it was 
in the case of Saul, king of Israel, and some besides 
named in Scripture. 



*Jer. xv. 12. 



295 

"3. There is no essential difference between reli- 
gions enjoyment in Wales and that which is now ex- 
perienced in America; and that which accompanied 
the preaching of Whitefield in England, and even in 
Scotland ; and that which also followed the ministry 
of President Edwards, in America, when whole towns 
and neighborhoods echoed with the sounds of persons 
praying and praising God, as if a bursting cloud-show- 
er of the Spirit of grace and prayer had descended 
upon them. Persons under the ministry of Whitefield 
wept, cried for mercy, and even fainted by the power 
of this influence. 

"4". And such gracious influences are necessary for 
the spread of the Gospel in every country, and in 
every land: and therefore the Millennium is described 
in the Bible as a period remarkable for the outpour- 
ing of the Holy Ghost— 'that a nation shall be born at 
once,'* — and 'the flowing of the nations shall be to 
the mountain of the Lord's house. 'f It is this influ- 
ence that has driven, as it were, the Gospel into every 
nook of the mountains of Wales, as well as into its 
cities, towns and villages ; while in England, with all 
the advantages of education, the gospel, in a manner, 
is hid in a corner; and it has not run through the 
country, and searched out, and taken possession of all 
the inland parts of that spiritual Africa, and that for 
the want of these gales ot divine influence, the pow- 
ers peculiar to the Gospel : and it can never be spread 
through every part of England as it is in Wales with- 

* Isaiah lxvL 8, t Isaiah ii. 3. 






296 Welsh Jumping. 

out these gifts. Common preaching will not do to 
rouse sluggish districts from the heavy slumbers into 
which they are sunk. Indeed, formal prayers and 
lifeless sermons are like bulwarks raised against these 
things in England ; and this evil genius has also en- 
tered the principality under the pretence of order. 
Five or six stanzas will be sung as dry as Gilboa, in- 
stead of one or two verses, like a new song, full of 
God, of Christ, and the Spirit of grace, until the heart 
is attuned for worship. The burying-grounds are 
kept in fine order in Glamorganshire, and green 
shrubs and herbs grow on the graves, but all this is 
of little value, for the inhabitants of them are all dead 
— so is every form of godliness where its power is not 
felt. Order without life is exceedingly worthless. 
You exhibit all the character of human nature, leav- 
ing every bud of the flower to open in the beams of 
the sun, except in divine worship. On other occasions 
you appear to have as much fire in your affections as 
the Welsh have. If you are noticed in a court of 
law, the most efficient advocate, such as Erskine, will 
give you the greatest satisfaction ; but you are con- 
tented with a preacher, speaking so lifelessly and so 
low that you can hardly understand the third part of 
what he says ; and you will call this decency in the 
sanctuary. To-morrow, I shall see you answering 
fu.ly to the human character, in your own actions. 
When the speakers on the platform will be urging 
the claims of missions, you will then beat the boards, 
and manifest so much life and cheerfulness, that not 
one of you will be seen to take up a note-book, nor 



Welsh Jumping. 207 

any other book, while the speaker shall be addressing 
yon. A Welshman might suppose, by hearing your 
noise, that he had been silently conveyed to the midst 
of one of the meetings of the 'Welsh jumpers/ with this 
difference, that you would perceive many more tears 
shed, aud hear more 'calves of the lips'- offered up, 
'n the rejoicing meetings of Wales. But you will use 
your heels well on such occasions, and a little of your 
tongues. But even in Wales, in certain places — that 
is, places where the fervent gales are not enjoyed 
which nil persons with fear and terror and joy in ap- 
proaching the altar of God— you may see, while hear- 
ing a sermon, one looking into his hymn-book, another 
inio hU note-book, and a third turning over the leaves 
of his Bible, as if lie were going to study a sermon in 
the sanctuary, instead of attending to what is spoken 
by the preacher as the mouth of God. If there is joy 
and gladness pertaining to many, the light of God's 
countenance in the sanctuary should develop it ; until 
a tire is kindled, and he speak with his tongue, mak- 
ing melody unto the Lord in his heart, and praising 
Him with his lips. 

i; 5. -t is vain to urge objections against these pow- 
erful gales of divine influence, and allege that it is 
under the ministry of the illiterate preachers of Wales 
only they are experienced. Harris, Rowlands, and 
the two Williamses were not so, for they had been 
brought up for the established church. Whitefield 
and Edwards were men of education, and they preach- 

*Hos. xiv. 2. 



298 . Welsh Jumping. 

ed tlie doctrine wliicli in England is considered evan- 
gelical. 

"6. It is also beside the point to affirm that only 
persons of no weight, that is, ignorant boys and girls, 
are in the habit of thus rejoicing and praising God in 
bis temple ; for it is certain that those who express 
their joy in this manner possess so much sound exper- 
imental knowledge, as to make them eminent in that 
respect. I have listened to many of them in the 
midst of their enjoyment, and have often been delight- 
ed while they repeated true, evangelical, and substan- 
tial stanzas, replete with profound sentiment : for in 
such seasons, they could find out the very best, which 
made impressions on their memories; and these rap- 
turous feelings developed them, as if the tongue were 
moved by the heat and force of the fire within. And 
many other things of an evangelical and gracious 
character they will utter on these joyful occasions, 
with such heavenly eloquence as wonld be inimitable, 
and impracticable even for themselves to utter with 
the same effect, without enjoying these meltings of 
spirit. This enjoyment is accompanied by many tears 
and mnch tenderness of heart : nor are persons of a 
dry spirit and hard heart ever regarded as lit subjects 
for this work of praise, in these blessed seasons of 
Christian enjoyment. It does not accord with any, 
but with him whose heart melts like wax, and runs in 
the form and mould of the Gospel. 

"7. There is no way in which churches or particu- 
lar persons may enjoy this heavenly ecstacy, but by 
walking with God, and a spirit of watchfulness and 



Welsh Jumping. 299 

prayer, which shows its pure and holy character. It 
awakens watchfulness against all evil tempers, im- 
proper expressions, and wicked actions, lest the sense 
of it should be lost. Such a frame of mind cannot be 
expected by living in sin. These individuals come to 
the house of God with an earnest desire for this enjoy- 
ment, and dreading lest there should be a something 
in them which would cause God to deny them this 
unspeakable privilege. It is an exceedingly easy 
matter for a minister to manage a congregation, while 
Christian enjoyment keeps them near to God. They 
are diligent and zealous, and ready for every good 
work. But it is very easy to offend this joyous spirit 
— or give it what name you please, enthusiasm, reli- 
gious madness, or Welsh jumping, (its English name,) 
— and make it hide itself. A quarrel and disagree- 
ment in the church will occasion it to withdraw im- 
mediately. Indulging in sin, in word or deed, will 
soon put it to flight. It is like unto the angel former* 
ly, who could not behold the sin of Israel without 
hiding himself; so is the angel of the religious life in 
Wales, which proves him to be a holy angel, though 
lie has the name of a 'Welsh jumper.' My prayer is, 
that this angel be a guard upon every congregation, 
and that none should do anything to offend him. It 
is an exceedingly powerful assistant to accompany us 
through the wilderness. But the individual that has 
not felt its happy influences, has nothing to lose ; 
hence he does not dread a dry meeting and a hard 
prayer, for they are all the same to him ; but the peo- 



300 Welsh Jumping. 

pie of this enjoyment pray before prayer, and before 
hearing, that they may meet with God in them. 

"8. The seasons when these blessings are vouch- 
safed to the churches of Wales, are to be noticed. It 
is generally at a time when the cause of religion is at 
a low ebb — all gone to slumber. This happy spirit of 
enjoyment, like the angel of the pillar of fire, appears 
when there is distress, and everything at the worst. 
Its approach to the congregation is like the glory of 
God returning to the temple of old ; it creates a stir 
among the brethren, — they have a new prayer, and a 
new spirit given them to worship God. This will lay 
hold of another, — some new strength and light will 
appear in the pulpit, until it will be imagined that 
the preacher's voice is altered, and that his spirit is 
become more evangelical, and that he preaches with 
a more excellent savor than usual. Tenderness will 
descend upon the members, and it will be seen that 
Mr. Wet-eyes and Mr. Amen have taken their places 
among them. The heavenly gale will reach some of 
the old backsliders, and they are brought with weep- 
ing to seek their forfeited privilege. By this time the 
sound of Almighty God will be heard in the outer 
court, beginning to move the hearers like a mighty 
wind shaking the forest. In these seasons of refresh- 
ment from the presence of the Lord some churches will 
receive, in the course of a year, additions of one hun- 
dred, others a hundred and fifty, and some others up- 
wards of two hundred new members. Sometimes, the 
gale seems as if it blew upon the outer court— upon 
the hearers, and the young people from ten to fifteen 



Welsh Jumping. 301 

years of age — when nothing extraordinary appears in 
the light and effect of the ministry, nor in the church ; 
but afterwards making its way through the outer 
court to rouse the inner court, until a great concern 
is awakened for the state of the soul. But observe : 
The revival that begins in the church, and proceeds 
from thence to the world, and not that which com- 
mences outside of the church, is more frequent, and 
more efficient in its converts, for the pangs of labor 
are to begin in Zion. 

"9. Again, it may be remarked that the happy ef- 
fects which follow these powerful revivals, evince 
their nature. They are certain, where they are strong, 
to bend the oaks of Bashan — men of strong and sturdy 
minds, and haughty hearts — to attend the ministry of 
the word. They will bring all the ships of Tarshish, 
the merchants of this world into the harbor of hear- 
ing. The power of the day of the Lord will raze all 
the Avails of bigotry to the foundations. The thoughts 
of eternal realities, and the spirit of worship, are by 
these blessings diffused abroad, and family worship is 
established in scores of families, where a few months 
before no regard was had unto it. The door of such 
district, thus opened by the powers of the world to 
come, shall not be closed against the hearers of the 
Gospel, until a goodly number of souls are there con- 
verted unto God. Where the living waters now, dead 
fish are made alive by its virtues. 

"1 0. Since the first appearing of these gracious gifts 
at Llangeitho, under the ministry of Mr. Rowlands, 
they have been showers of blessings, which are pour- 



302 Comments by Autiiok. 

ed down on the congregations of the Baptists and Con- 
gregationalists as well as the Calvinistic Methodists ; 
and sometimes one of these denominations is favored 
with them, whilst the others are destitute. These re- 
freshing seasons were, at times, experienced in a very 
powerful manner at Llangeitho, for about fifty years ; 
that is, all the period of Mr. Rowlands' ministrations 
in that church. About two thousand persons assem- 
bled there for communion once a month, from the 
several counties of Wales, even in winter, and about 
three thousand in the summer season ; which Tendered 
it the most extraordinary place in Europe ; and, be- 
yond a doubt, hundreds of those who assembled there, 
on such occasions, are now in heaven singing the new 
song. If to live on the merits of Christ, to fear God, 
and -praise him, and lead a sober and lighteous life, is 
an evidence of a godly state, then this was visible at 
that time at Llangeitho." — Pages 42-49. 

We have conversed with aged Welsh Baptist 
saints, who said they had witnessed hundreds of men 
and women, leaping as does upon the mountains, and 
shouting at the top of their voices, under the preach- 
ing of Mr. Evans. All Wale > was in mourning when 
lie died, and entered the land where there is no scorn- 
er to curl his lip and point the finger. O, that the 
Baptists of the present day in America had such men, 
— aye, and the Methodists, too. 

Farewell, Christmas, till we meet thee where we 
shall see as w r e are seen. Then the great Oculist 



Comments by Autiiok. 303 

will open our e} es, and, with Milton, and thousands 
who cannot see the beauties of nature, we shall gaze 
on Him who both redeemed us and washed us in his 
blood, and shall sing with the throng gathered from 
every kindred, tongue and nation. Amen ! Halle- 
luiah ! 



CHAPTER THIBTY-EIGHTH. 



dittos flf Innate $Mwk 



Having made a short running call on Christmas Ev- 
ans and the Welsh Jumpers, we will knock at the 
door of Rev. Jonathan Edwaids, a New England Con- 
gregationalism and one of the great lights of Calvin- 
ism. We perceive his latch string is very invitingly 
hung out. "We have just got through reading his work 
on Revivals, about the size of the book we are now 
making ; and as we begin to make extracts we feel 
like throwing in the whole book. We feel like cast- 
ing out only his doctrine of election and reprobation, 
and the doctrine that it is impossible for the saints to 
miss heaven, whether they desire to go there or not. 
His portraiture of a saint is drawn to life. We should 
think from his writings that he dipped his pen in the 
ink-horn of a high and holy christian experience. He 
endorses the doctrine of this little book in regard to 



Extracts and Comments. 305 

outward demonstrations of the Spirit. He goes for 
the ground and lofty tumbling of the saints, and for 
firing by platoons, and broadsides ; he would meet the 
Devil rough-and-tumble on his own battle ground. 

lie is so much ahead of us, and many of our Meth- 
odist friends, that we are left in the shade. But the 
reader will be prepared for the earthquake power that 
shook the five New England States, after following 
Wesley into so many battle fields, and hearing the 
groans and outcries of those in whom the old Adam 
was dying, and the shouts of victors. 

Mr. Edwards was a Joshua, elect and sanctified, to 
lead on the sacramental host. The mighty walls of 
many a Jericho fell before him, as he sounded the 
Gospel trumpet. Giants were as grasshoppers. Oh ! 
Lord, raise up an army of such men to fill all the Cal- 
vinistic pulpits in our land. Amen. 

In his book, Mr. Edwards frequently refers to such 
outward demonstrations as groaning, screaming, laugh- 
ing, shouting, and falling. "While these manifesta- 
tions were occurring under his own labors, the porcu- 
pine quills of his brethren were constantly darted at 
him ; but the Almighty shielded him, and the quills 
fell harmless at his feet. To these scoffers he speaks 
in earnest warning. He maintains that it is a great 
error to judge of the work of the Spirit a priori; but 



306 Extracts and Comments. 

that we should observe the " effect wrought, and if. 
upon examination of ic, it be found to be agreeable 
to the word of God, we are bound without more ado, 
to rest in it as God's work; and shall be like to be re- 
buked for our arrogance, if we refuse so to do till God 
explains to us how he has brought this effect, or why 
lie has made use of such and such means in doing it." 
Page 107, 108. 

It will be remembered that Mr. Wesley speaks dis- 
paragingly of the Welsh Jumpers, and French proph- 
ets, and as we think without foundation. We have 
given a chapter on Welsh Jumping ; we will now give 
President Edwards' view of the Frenchmen : 

"The same author in the preceding page informs 
of many in France that were so wonderfully affected 
with the preaching of the Gospel, in the time of those 
famous divines, Farel and Yi ret, that for a a time they 
could not follow their secular business ; and p. 1S6, 
of many in Ireland, in a time of the great outpouring 
of the Spirit there, in the year 1628, that were so fill- 
ed with divine comforts and a sense of God, that they 
made but little use of either meat, drink, or sleep, and 
professed that they did not feel the need thereof." — 
Page 128. 

Thank God! salvation is the same to a Frenchman 
or Irishman, as to a Yankee. Moses was forty days 
on the Mount with God, no doubt without food. And 
it seems in this instance that men, women, and chil- 



Extracts axd Comments. 307 

dren were so charmed with the preaching of Christ, 

that they scarcely felt the need of food. Body as 
well as soul seemed to he fed by the precious doctrines 
of the Cross. 

Mr. Edwards continues on page 15S: 

"And now let us consider — is it not strange that in 
a christian, orthodox country, and such a land of light 
as this is, there should be many at a loss whose work 
this is, whether the work of God or the work of the 
devil? Is it not a shame to New England that such 
a work should be much doubted of here ? Need we 
look over the histories of all past times, to see if there 
be not some circumstances and external appearances 
that attend this work, that have been formerly found 
amongst enthusiasts \ Whether the Montanists had 
not great transports of joy, and whether the French 
Prophets had not agitations of body ? Blessed be God ! 
he does not put us to the toil of such inquiries. We 
need not say, Who shall ascend into heaven to bring 
ns down something whereby to judge of this work? 
Nor does God send ns beyond the seas, nor into past 
ages, to obtain a rule that shall determine and satisfy 
ns. But we have a rule near at hand — a sacred hook 
that God himself has put into onr hands, with clear 
and infallible marks sufficient to resolve ns in things 
of this nature; which book I think we must reject, 
not only in some particular passages, but in the sub- 
stance of it, if we reject such a work as has now been 
described, as not being the work of God. The whole 



303 Extracts and Comments. 

tenor of the Gospel proves it; all the idea of religion 
that the Scripture gives us confirms it." 

We agree with President Edwards, that we need 
not go to distant lands to find rock to stand upon, 
and rear onr little edifice ; neither shall we be at a 
loss for a cap-stone to be brought forth with shoutings 
of grace, grace unto it. The old family Bible is the 
noisiest book in the world, and mortals are now living 
in the most qniet spot they will ever inherit. 

We will conclude this chapter by another extract', 
which refers to a person, (doubtless Mrs. Edwards, a 
woman of "uncommon endowments and excellence,) 
who was truly sanctified, and lived in the land of Beu- 
lah, leaping sometimes on the mountain tops, at other 
times measuring swords with the Prince of darkness 
in some Gethsemane. 

"I have been particularly acquainted with many 
persons that have been the subjects of the high and 
extraordinary transports of the present day; and in 
the highest transports of any of the instances that I 
have been acquainted with, and where the affections 
of admiration, love and joy, so far as another could 
judge, have been raised to a higher pitch than in any 
other instances I have observed or be^n informed of, 
the following things have been united : namely, 

A very frequent dwelling, for some considerable 
lime together, in such views of the glory of the divine 
perfections and Christ's excellencies, that the soul in 



Extracts and Comments. 309 

the mean time lias been as it were perfectly over- 
whelmed and swallowed up with light and love, and 
a sweet solace, rest and joy of soul that was altogeth- 
er unspeakable ; and more than once continuing for 
five or six hours together without interruption in that 
clear and lively view or sense of the infinite beauty 
and amiableness of Christ's person, and the heavenly 
sweetness of his excellent and transcendent love ; so 
that (to use the person's own expressions) the soul re- 
mained in a kind of heavenly elysium, and did as it 
were swim in the rays of Christ's love, like a little 
mote swimming in the beams of the sun or streams 
of his light that come in at a window; and the heart 
was swallowed up in a glow of Christ's love coming 
down from Christ's heart in heaven as a constant 
stream of sweet light, at the same time the soul was 
all flowing out in love to him ; so that there seemed 
to be a constant flowing and reflowing from heart to 
heart. I he soul dwelt on high, and was lost in God, 
and seemed almost to leave the body : dwelling on a 
pure delight that fed and satisfied the soul ; enjoying 
pleasure without the least sting or interruption ; a 
sweetness that the soul was lost in ; so that (so far as 
the judgment and word of a person of discretion may 
be taken, speaking upon the most deliberate consid- 
eration) what was enjoyed in each single minute of 
the whole space, which was many hours, was undoubt- 
edly worth more than all the outward comfort and 
pleasure of the whole life put together ; and this with- 
out being in any trance, or being at ail deprived of 
the exercise of the bodily senses ; and the like heaven- 



810 Extracts and Comments. 

ly delight and unspeakable joy of soul, enjoyed from 
time to time for years together ; though not frequently 
so long together, to such a height ; extraordinary views 
of divine things and religious affections being fre- 
quently attended with very great effects on the body, 
nature often sinking under the weight of divine dis- 
coveries, the strength of the body taken away, so as 
to deprive of all ability to stand or speak ; sometimes 
the hands clinched and the flesh cold, but sense still 
remaining ; animal nature often in a great emotion 
and agitation, and the soul very often, of late, so over- 
come with great admiration and a kind of omnipotent 
joy, as to cause the person (wholly unavoidably) to 
leap with all the might, with joy and mighty exulta- 
tion of soul ; the soul at the same time being so strong- 
ly drawn towards God and Christ in heaven, that it 
seemed to the person as though soul and body would, 
as it were of themselves, of necessity mount up, leave 
tlie earth and ascend thither. 

These effects on the body did not begin now in this 
wonderful season, that they should be owing to the in- 
fluence of the example of the times, but about seven 
years ago; and began in a much higher degree and 
greater frequency, near three years ago, when there 
was no such enthusiastical season, as many account 
this, but it was a very dead time through the land ; 
ihey arose from no distemper catched from Mr. White- 
field or Mr. Tennent, because they began before either 
of them came into the country ; they began, as I said, 
near three years ago, in a great increase, upon an ex- 
traordinary self-dedication, and renunciation of the 



Extracts and Comments. 311 



world, and resignation of all to God, made in a great 
view of God's excellency, and high exercise of love 
to him, and rest and joy in him ; since which time 
they have been very frequent. They began in a yet 
higher degree and greater frequency about a year and 
a half ago, upon another new resignation of all to God, 
with a yet greater fervency and delight of soul ; since 
which time the body has been very often fainting with 
the love of Christ ; and thev began in a much higher 
degree still, the last winter, upon another resignation 
and acceptance of God as the only portion and happi- 
ness of the soul, wherein the whole world, with the 
dearest enjoyments in it, were renounced as dirt and 
dung, and ail that is pleasant and glorious, and all 
that is terrible in this world, seemed perfectly to van- 
ish into nothing, and nothing to be left but God, in 
whom the soul was perfectly swallowed up, as in an 
infinite ocean of blessedness ; since which time there 
have often been great agitations of body and an un- 
avoidable leaping for joy ; and the soul as it were 
dwelling, almost without interruption, in a kind of 
paradise ; and very often, in high transports, disposed 
to speak of those great and glorious things of God and 
Christ and the eternal world that are in view, to oth- 
ers that are present, in a most earnest manner and 
with a loud voice, so that it is next to impossible to 
avoid it; these effects on the body not arising from 
any bodily disease or weakness, the most distinguished 
of all having been in a good state of health. 

This great rejoicing has been a rejoicing with trem- 
bling, that is, attended with a deep and lively sense of 



312 Extracts and Comments. 

the greatness and majesty of God, and the person's 
own exceeding littleness and vileness ; spiritual joys 
in this person never were attended, either formerly 
or lately, with the least appearance of any laughter 
or lightness of countenance or manner of speaking ; 
but with a peculiar abhorrence of such appearances 
in spiritual rejoicings, especially since joys have been 
greatest of all: these high transports when they have 
been past, have had abiding effects in the increase of 
the sweetness, rest and humility that they have left 
upon the soul ; and a new engagedness of heart to 
live to God's honor, and watch and fight against sin. 
And these things not in one that is in the giddy age 
of youth, nor in a new convert and unexperienced 
christian, but in one that was converted above twenty- 
seven years ago ; and neither converted nor educated 
in that enthusiastical town of Northampton, (as some 
may be ready to call it,) but in a town and family 
that none that I know of suspected of enthusiasm; 
and in a christian that has been long, in an uncom- 
mon manner, growing in grace, and rising, by very 
sensible degrees, to higher love to God, and weaned- 
ness from the world, and mastery over sin and temp- 
tation, through great trials and conflicts, and long- 
continued struggling and fighting with sin, and earn- 
est and constant prayer and labor in religion, and en- 
gagedness of mind in the use of all means, attended 
with a great exactness of life : which growth has been 
attended not only with a great increase of religions af- 
fections, but with a wonderful alteration of outward 
behavior, in many things visible to those who are most 



Extracts and Comments. 313 

intimately acquainted, so as lately to hare become 
as it were a new person ; and particularly in living 
so much, above the world, and in a greater degree of 
steadfastness and strength in the way of duty and 
self-denial, maintaining the christian conflict against 
temptations, and conquering from time to time under 
great trials; persisting in an unmoved, untouched 
calm and rest, under the changes and accidents of 
time."— Page 160-164. 



1& 



CHAPTER THIRTY-NINTH. 



itos of itoarto fetak 



We continue our extracts from Edwards. He main- 
tains that the work, accompanied by such extraordi- 
nary manifestations, was not only great, but glorious. 

"Now if such things are enthusiasm, and the fruits 
of a distempered brain, let my brain be evermore 
possessed of that happy distemper ! If this be distrac- 
tion, I pray God that the world of mankind may be 
all seized with this benign, meek, beneficent, beatifi- 
cal, glorious distraction ! If agitations of body were 
found in the French prophets, and ten thousand proph* 
ets more, it is little to their purpose who bring it as 
an objection against such a work as this, unless their 
purpose be to disprove the whole of the Christian 
religion. The great affections and high transports 
that others have lately been under, are in general of 
the same kind with. those in the instance that has been 
given, though not to so high a degree, and many of 
them not so pure and unmixed and so well regulateel 



Extracts and Comments. 315 

I have had opportunity to observe many instances 
here and elsewhere ; and though there are some in- 
stances of great affections in which there has been a 
great mixture of nature with grace, and in some a sad 
degenerating of religious affections; yet there is such 
uniformity observable, that it is easy to be seen that 
in general it is the same Spirit from whence the work 
in all parts of the land has originated. 

"And what notions have they of religion who reject 
what has been described as not true religion? "What 
shall we find to answer those expressions in Scripture : 
'The peace of God that passeth all understanding ; re- 
joicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory, in be- 
lieving and loving an unseen Savior; all joy and peace 
in believing ; God's shining into our hearts, to give 
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the 
face of Jesus Christ ; with open face beholding, as in 
a glas^, the glory of the Lord, and being changed into 
the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the 
Spirit of the Lord ; having the love of God shed abroad 
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given to us ; having 
the Spirit of God and of glory rest upon us ; a being 
called out of darkness into marvellous light ; and hav- 
ing the day-star arise in our hearts ;' I say, if those 
things that have been mentioned do not answer these 
expressions, what else can we find out that does an- 
swer them ? Those that do not think such things as 
these to be the fruits of the true Spirit, would do well 
to consider what kind of spirit they are waiting and 
praying for, and what sort of fruits they expect he 
should produce when he comes."— Pages 174-175. 



316 Extracts and Comments; 

What do you say to all this, my Presbyterian broth- 
er or sister 1 This is the cream of the Gospel in ear- 
nest. Are you waiting for a better boat to touch at 
your wharf before you purchase your tickets ? Phar- 
isees call your steamer fanaticism, and say that its 
steam is got up by wild fire ; but we call her Old Ship 
Zion, and believe her steam is generated by the fires 
of the Holy Ghost. Millions has she landed on the 
other shore, and millions more are on the way ; so let 
us sing, 

"I've launched my bark for glory, 
I've left the world behind, 
Determined for a harbor 
That's out of sight to find. 

"Especially should all Israel be gathered after their 
Captain, as we read they were after Ehud, when he 
blew the trumpet in Mount Ephraim when he had 
slain Eglon, king of Moab. Judg. iii. : 27, 28. How 
severe is the martial law in such a case, when any 
one of an army refuses to obey the sound of a trumpet 
and follow his general to the battle ! God at such a 
time appears in peculiar manifestations of his glory ; 
and therefore not to be affected and animated, and to 
lie still and refuse to follow God, will be resented as a 
high contempt of him. If a subject should stand by 
and be a spectator of the solemnity of his prince's cor- 
onation, and should appear silent and sullen when all 
the multitude were testifying their loyalty and joy 



ExTKAcTS AND COMMENTS. 817 

with loud acclamations ; bow greatly would he expose 
himself to be treated as a rebel, and quickly to perish 
by the authority of the prince that he refuses to honor ! 
"At a time when God manifests himself in such a 
great work for his church, there is no such thing as 
being neutral ; there is a necessity of being either for 
or against the King that then gloriously appears. As 
when a king is crowned, and there are public mani- 
festations of joy on that occasion, there is no such thing 
as standing by as an indifferent spectator ; all must 
appear as loyal subjects, and express their joy on that 
occasion, or be accounted enemies : so it always is 
when God, in any great dispensation of his providence 
does remarkably set his King on his holy hill of Zion, 
and Christ in an extraordinary manner comes down 
from heaven to earth, and appears in his visible church 
ina great work of salvation for his people. So it was 
when Christ came down from heaven in his incarna- 
tion, and appeared on earth in his human presence; 
l here was no such thing as being neutral — neither on 
Iiis side nor against him : those that sat still and said 
nothing, and did not declare for him, and come and 
j"in with him, after he, by his word and works, had 
given sufficient evidence who he was, were justly look- 
ed upon as his enemies ; as Christ says, Matt. xii. : 30, 
'He that is not with me is against me ; and he that 
gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad.' So it is in 
a time when Christ is remarkably present spiritually, 
as well as when he is present bodily ; and when he 
comes to carry on the work of redemption in the ap- 



318 ExTEA.OTS AND COMMENTS. 

plication of it, as well as in the revelation and pur- 
chase. 

"If a king should come into one of his provinces 
that had been oppressed by its foes, where some of his 
subjects had fallen oil' to the enemy and joined them 
against their lawful sovereign and his lawful subjects ; 
I say, if the lawful sovereign himself should come into 
the province, and should ride forth there against his 
enemies, and should call upon all that were on his 
side to come and gather themselves to him ; there 
would be no such thing, in such a case, as standing 
neutral: they that lay still and staid at a distance 
would undoubtedly be looked upon and treated as 
rebels. So in the day of battle, when two armies join, 
there is no such thing for any present as being of 
neither party — all must be on one side or the other; 
and they that are not found with the conqueror in such 
a case, must expect to have his weapons turned 
against them, and to fall with the rest of his enemies. " 
—Pages 184-185. 

"Great care should be taken that the press should 
be improved to no purpose contrary to the interests of 
this work. We read that when God fought against 
Sisera for the deliverance of his oppressed church, 
they that handle the pen of the writer came to the help 
of the Lord in that affair. Judges v. : 14. Whatever 
class of men in Israel they were that were intended, 
yet, as the words were indicted by a Spirit that had 
a perfect view of all events to the end of the world, 
and had a special eye in this song to that great event 
of the deliverance of God's church in the latter days, 



Extracts and Comments. 319 

of which this deliverance of Israel was a type, it is not 
unlikely that they have respect to authors, those that 
should fight against the kingdom of Satan with their 
pens. Those, therefore, that publish pamphlets to the 
disadvantage of this work, and tending either directly 
or indirectly to bring it under suspicion, and to dis-- 
courage or hinder it, would do well thoroughly to 
consider whether this be not indeed the work of 
God ; and whether, if it be, it is not likely that God 
will go forth as fire to consume all that stand in his 
way, and so burn up those pamphlets ; and whether 
there be not danger that the fire that is kindled in 
them will scorch the authors."— Pages 231-232, 

There is no more responsible position assumed than 
that of an author. The printing press is constantly 
sending out a stream of salvation or damnation. Tom 
Paine might have preached a hundred years, aye, a 
thousand, without raising the dark wave of infidelity 
as high as his books have done. John Bunyan has 
done more to win souls to Christ with his quill, than 
the most flaming minister ever did merely by his 
preaching. Both Paine and Bunyan will continue to 
speak unto the end of time. After we are cut down 
by the sharp sickle, and our soul safely landed in 
heaven, this, and other publications of ours, will be 
read by thousands and tens of thousands yet unborn. 
We have written every chapter after rising from our 
knees, expecting to give an account in the judgment. 



320 Extracts and Comments. 

A person who could make a comet and send it on a 
circuit of a hundred years, would be renowned in his- 
tory ; but what is such a person compared with one 
who binds up a golden thought in a book, and sends 
it on wings of light and mercy to fireside circles, 
where the sons and daughters of a fallen race, read it 
after the author is sleeping in the grave ! 



CHAPTER FORTIETH. 



$ietos af dSiiwbs totinwfo. 



We now extract a few words for croakers : 
"Who loves in a clay of great joy and gladness to 
be much insisting on those things that are uncomfor- 
table ? Would it not be very improper, on a king's 
coronation day, to be much in taking notice of the 
blemishes of the royal family ? Or would it be agree- 
able to the bridegroom on the day of his espousals, 
the day of the gladness of his heart, to be much insist- 
ing on the blemishes of his bride ? We have an ac- 
count how that, at the time of that joyful dispensation 
of Providence, the restoration of the church of Is- 
rael after the Babylonish captivity, and at the time 
of the feast of tabernacles, many wept at the faults 
that were found amongst the people, but were re- 
proved for taking so much notice of the blemishes 
of that affair as to overlook the cause of rejoicing. 
Noli. viii. : 9-12, 'And Nehemiah, which is the Tir- 
shatha, and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites 
that taught the people, said unto all the people, this 



822 A Wobd for Ckoakees. 

day is holy unto the Lord your God, mourn not nor 
weep ; for all the people wept when they heard the 
words of the law. Then he said unto them, go your 
way, eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send por- 
tions unto them for whom nothing is prepared ; for 
this day is holy unto our Lord ; neither be ye sorry, 
for the joy of the Lord is your strength* So the Le- 
vites stilled all the people, saying, hold your peace, 
for the day is holy, neither be ye grieved. And all 
the people went their way, to eat, and to drink, and to 
send portions, and to make great mirth, because they 
had understood the words that were declared unto 
them.' 

"God doubtless now expects that all classes of per- 
sons in New England, rulers, ministers and people, 
high and low, rich and poor, old and young, should 
take great notice of his hand in this mighty work of 
his grace, and should appear to acknowledge his glory 
in it, and greatly to rejoice in it, every one doing his 
utmost in the place that God has set them in to pro- 
mote it. And God, according to his wonderful pa- 
tience, seems to be still waiting to give us opportunity 
thus to acknowledge and honor him. But if we finally 
refuse, there is not the least reason to expect any oth- 
pr than that his awful curse will pursue us, and that 
the pourings out of his wrath will be proportionable 
to the despised outpourings of his Spirit and grace." 
—Pages 234-235. 

Two men went into a king's flower garden ; one of 
them intent on gathering a rich boquet from the nu- 



Light Without Heat. 3:13 

morons varieties of ilowers, to present to tbe king ; the 
other, insisting that there were spielers in the garden, 
was intent on finding them. The spider hunter passed 
indifferently all the flower beds. He saw no beauty, 
and was delighted with no pleasant odors. On he 
went, searching every dark corner of the garden for 
spiders. Soon the two men return ; one with a fra- 
grant boquet in his baud, and his garments emitting 
the odor of flowers, the other covered with spider- 
webs Which will the king be most likely to admit 
to his audience chamber ? And which will the King 
of kings be most pleased with, a man whose heart 
emits the odor of true charity and piety ; or one whose 
soul is covered with the cobwebs of a censorious spir- 
it ? The raven that left Noah's ark could find a rest- 
ing place on the floating carcass of a horse or his 
rider ; but the dove would sicken at the sight, and on 
weary wing return to the ark. So with true Chris- 
tians. They find enough in Jesus to satisfy their 
souls. They say like David, He has spread a table 
before me in the presence of mine enemies, my cup 
runneth over. Amen ! 

Another extract on the question whether light with- 
out heat is sufficient : 

"I should think myself in the way of my duty to 
raise the affections of my hearers as high as I possibly 



324 EXTKACTS AND COMMENTS. 

can., provided that they are affected with nothing but 
truth, and with affections that are not disagreeable to 
the nature of what they are affected with. I know it 
has long been fashionable to despise a very earnest 
and pathetical way of preaching ; and they, and they 
only, have been valued as preachers that have shown 
the greatest extent of learning, and strength of reason, 
and correctness of method and language ; but I hum- 
bly conceive it has been for want of understanding or 
duly considering human nature that such preaching 
has been thought to have the greatest tendency to an- 
swer the ends of preaching; and the experience of the 
present and past ages abundantly confirms the same. 
"Though, as I said before, clearness of distinction 
and illustration, and strength of reason, and a good 
method in the doctrinal handling of the truths of reli- 
gion, is many ways needful and profitable and not to 
be neglected, yet an increase in speculative knowledge 
in divinity is not what is so much needed by our peo- 
ple as something else. Men may abound in this sort 
of light and have no heat. How much has there been 
of this sort of knowledge in the Christian world in this 
age ! Was there ever an age wherein strength and 
penetration of reason, extent of learning, exactness of 
distinction, correctness of style, and clearness of ex- 
pression did so abound ? And yet was there ever an 
age wherein there has been so little sense of the evil 
of sin, so little love to God, heavenly-mindedness and 
holiness of life among the professors of true religion ? 
Our people do not so much need to have their heads 
stored as to have their hearts touched ; and they stand 



Extracts and Comments. 325 

in the greatest need of that sort of preaching that has 
the greatest tendency to do this." — Pages 241-242. 

Reader, go with us to the garden of Eden. There 
lies a piece of machinery fearfully and wonderfully 
made. It is a man ; oh, no ! it is a lump of clay. No 
pulse beating — no heart throbbing. It is, in form, 
like a man ; but there is no life, no motion. How like 
many sermons ! Beautifully squared up — orthodox 
to a hair's breadth. But God has not breathed into 
them. They are regular refrigerators. They freeze 
the sweet cream of pure, zealous piety. But God 
breathed into Adam and warmed him into life ; and 
so does he sometimes breathe new life into cold, for- 
mal sermons. He will give inspiration to every word, 
and prayer, and song. The letter alone killeth ; but 
clothed by the Spirit with thunder and lightning, and 
accompanied by gracious showers, it gives life, and 
renders fruitful the most barren soil. On a mountain 
crested with everlasting snow is a cave, where hun- 
dreds of men, women and children were frozen, with 
their eyes open, and the rose upon the cheek. A fair 
representation of many congregations listening to a 
dead-letter preacher, who was baptized, not at Jeru- 
salem, but at Athens — 

"Athens' owl and not Mount Zion's dove — 
The bird of learning, not the bird of love." 



320 EXTKACTS A.NB COMMENTS. 

"Another tiling wherein I think some ministers 
have been injured, is in being very much blamed for 
making so much of outcries, fainilngs, arid other bod- 
ily effects / speaking of them as tokens of the presence 
of God and arguments of the success of preaching, 
seeming to strive to their utmost to bring a congrega- 
tion to that state, and seeming to rejoice in it, yea, 
even blessing God for it when they see these effects. 

"Concerning this I would observe, in the first place, 
that there are many tilings with respect to cryings 
out, falling down, &c, that are charged on ministers, 
which they are not guilty of. Some would have it 
that they speak of these things as certain evidences 
of a work of the Spirit of God on the hearts of their 
hearers, or that they esteem, these bodily effects 
themselves to be the work of God, as though the Spirit 
of God took hold of and agitated the bodies of men ; 
and some are charged with making these things es- 
sential, and supposing that persons cannot be convert- 
ed without them ; whereas I never yet could see the 
person that held either of these things. 

"But for speaking of such effects as probable tokens 
of God's presence, and arguments of the success 
of preaching, it seems to me that they are not to be 
blamed, because I think they are so indeed ; and 
therefore when I see them excited bj r preaching the 
important truths of God's word, urged and enforced 
by proper arguments and motives, or as consequent 
on other means that are good, I do not scruple to 
speak of them, and to rejoice in them, and bless God 
for them as such ; and that for this (as I think) good 



Extracts and Comments, 327 

reason, namely, tliat from time to time, upon proper 
inquiry, and examination, and observation of the con- 
sequences and fruits, I have found that these are all 
evidences that persons in whom these effects appear 
are under the influence of God's Spirit, in such cases. 
Cryings out, in such a manner and with such circum- 
stances as I have seen them from time to time, is as 
much an evidence to me of the general cause it pro- 
ceeds from as language: I have learned the meaning 
of it, the same way that persons learn the meaning of 
language, by use and experience." — Pages 258-259. 

There are two things worthy of notice in the above 
extract. It is a common saying among many oppo- 
sers of the work, that the ministers whom God honors 
with great revivals entertain the idea that none are 
truly converted, who are not the subjects of peculiar 
exercises. It is a lie. We have yet to find a minis- 
ter or layman who holds sucij a doctrine. Take warn- 
ing, scoffers ; you know the destiny of all liars. We 
are glad to see Bro. Edwards throw his own experi- 
ence in the scale. All those outward demonstrations 
he understands. How unlike our friend in a former 
chapter. He could not understand a shout unless 
words were articulated Perhaps a box of Fetter 
Lane pills would do him good and bring him around 
right. True, they are not sugar-coated, not very 
pleasant to take, hard to get down, especially for a 
minister with a long handle on the end of his name. 



328 ExTiiAcis and Comments. 

"It is said by some tliat the people that are tlie sub- 
jects of this work, when they get together, talking 
loud and earnestly in their pretended great joys, sev- 
eral in a room talking at the same time, make a noise 
just like a company of drunken persons. On which 
I would observe, that it is foretold that God's people 
should do so, in that forementioned place, Zech. ix : 
15-17, of which I shall now take more particular no- 
tice. The words are as follows : 'The Lord of hosts 
shall defend them ; and. they shall devour and subdue 
with sling-stones ; and they shall drink, and make 
a noise as through wine, and they shall be tilled like 
bowls, and as the corners of the altar: and the Lord 
their God shall save them in that day, as the flock of 
his people ; for they shall be as the stories of a crown 
lifted up as an ensign upon his land : for how great is 
his goodness ! and how great is his beauty ! Coin 
shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the 
maids.' The words are very remarkable : here it is 
foretold, that at the time when Christ shall set np a 
universal kingdom upon earth, (verse 20,) the children 
of Zion shall drink until they are fillet! like the ves- 
sels of the sanctuary; and if we would know what 
they shall be filled with, the prophecy does in effect 
explain itself: they shall be filled, as the vessels of the 
sanctuary that contained the drink offering, which 
was wine ; and yet the words imply that it shall not 
literally be wine that they shall drink and be filled 
with, because it is said they shall drink and make a 
noise as through wine, as if they had drank wine: 
which implies that they had not literally done it; and 



ExTKACTS AND COMMENTS. 329 

therefore we must understand the words, that they 
shall drink into that, and be filled with that, which 
the wine of the drink offering represented, or was a 
type of, which is the Holy Spirit, as well tfs the blood 
of Christ, that new wine that is drunk in our heaven- 
ly Father's kingdom : they shall be filled with the 
Spirit, which the apostle sets in opposition to a being 
drunk with wine, Ephesians, 5 : 18. This is the new 
wine spoken of, verse 17. It is the same with that 
best wine spoken of in Canticles, that goes down sweet- 
ly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak. 

It is here foretold that the children of Zion, in the 
latter days, should be filled with that which should 
make them cheerful, and cause them to make a noise 
as through wine, and by which these joyful happy 
persons that are thus filled shall be as the stones of a 
crown lifted up as an ensign upon God's land, being 
made joyful in the extraordinary manifestations of the 
beauty and love of Christ : as it follows, How great is 
his goodness! and how great is his beauty ! And it is 
further remarkable that it is here foretold that it should 
be thus especially amongst young people : Corn shall 
make the young men cheerful, and 'new wine the maids. 
It would be ridiculous to understand this of literal 
bread and wine : without doubt, the same spiritual 
blessings are signified by bread and wine here, which 
were represented by Melchizedeck's bread and wine, 
and are signified by the bread and wine in the Lord's 
supper. One of the marginal readings is, shall make 
the young men to speak, which ig agreeable to that in 



330 Extracts and Comments. 

Canticles, of the test wines causing the lips of those 
that are asleep to speak. 

"We ought not to be in any measure like the unbe- 
lieving Jews in Christ's time, who were disgusted both 
with crying out with distress and with joy. "When 
the poor blind man cried out before all the multitude, 
Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me, and con- 
tinued incessantly thus doing, the. multitude rebuked 
him, and charged him that he should hold his tongue, 
Mark x : 46, 47, 48, and Luke, xviii : 38, 39. They 
looked upon it to be a very indecent noise that he 
made; a thing very ill becoming him, to cause his 
voice to be heard so much and so loud among the, 
multitude."— Page 264-266. 

Glory to God on high ! Bro. Edwards let the sling 
stones fly ; you are a true Benjaminite, slinging the 
stone to a hair's breadth. The Devil told the truth 
once. They that assemble themselves together, drink 
the wine, and eat the corn, in the courts of His holi- 
ness. Not one of the outsiders got a sip of the wine 
at the Pentecost prayer meeting. True, the saints 
were charged with making a noise like drunken men. 
But when the new wine is put into new bottles, they 
get into a spot where the wicked one toucheth them 
not. An old Pharisee would blow up. in three min- 
utes if he were filled with new wine. The Kev. Mr. 
Caughey, a modern Edwards, says that he can suck 
fire out of the above-mentioned text. We remember 



Extracts and Comments. 331 

trying to preach from it on the last night of the last 
Bergen camp meeting, where thousands were eating 
the honey, and drinking the wine at the same lime. 
The Lord of hosts let slip many barbed arrows ; the 
stones flew from the slings of the little Davids ; and 
many made a noise as through wine. 

But we must bid good bye to Bro. Edwards. The 
more we talk with him, the better we like him. O, 
Lord ! fill the world with just such preachers. The 
doctrine of election and the perseverance of the saints 
will come out right. We are tempted to quote an- 
other extract, a picture of a minister who tried to 
pray, and preach, and talk to mourners, destitute of 
religion himself. But it is such an awful looking 
spider cancer that we turn away from it, and enquire 
for Father Abbott, whom we promised to call upon. 
Farewell, Bro. Edwards, till we meet in the judg- 
ment. 



CHAPTER F0KTY-F1RST 



jeitjamhi JAMi 



"We laid out our book at first for about £m u hundred 
and thirty pages, with many doubts as to whether we 
should find material to spread over them ; but we are 
one hundred pages in advance of our prescribed Km" 
its, and yet the waters deepen. The saints that have 
long slept, as when Christ died, wake up and come 
forth from their tombs, and insist upon having some- 
thing to say upon the subject. But we must take the 
lightning train, or Gabriel may blow before we find a 
place to lay down the pen. 

Well ! here comes forth Abbott, a kind of jaw-bone 
in the hands of our spiritual Sampson. He was blasted 
out of the mountain some where in Pennsylvania, by 
the prayer of his sainted mother, as her feet were in 
the waters of Jordan. We will invite him to stand 
up and tell us a little of his early experience. 



Abbott's Conviction. 333 

"My mother, when on her death bed, lay sick of a 
nervous complaint about five weeks. In the dead of 
the night, before she expired, she cried unto the Lord, 
and besought hi in to look in mercy upon the family, 
and with a loud voice prayed fervently for us all, 
which caused the spectators to wonder and to cry out, 
' Hannah, what is the matter with you V Next day 
she departed this life. I then pondered these things 
in my heart. 

" In six weeks after, my father took the small pox, 
and departed this life, leaving my grandfather execu- 
tor. In his will he ordered that we should all have 
trades ; accordingly I was put to a hatter in Philadel- 
phia, where I soon fell into bad company, and from 
that to card playing, cock fighting, and many other 
evil practices. My master and I parted before my 
time was out, and I went into Jersey, and hired with 
one of my brothers, where I wrought at plantation 
work. Some time, after this I married ; and when I 
got what my father had left me, I rented a farm, and 
followed that business ; but all this time I had no fear 
of God before my eyes, but lived in sin and open 
rebellion against God, In drinking, fighting, swearing, 
gambling, &c; yet I worked hard and got a comfort- 
able living for my family. I professed myself a Pres- 
byterian, went often to meeting, and many times the 
Spirit of God alarmed my guilty soul of its danger; ' 
but it as often wore off again. 

" Thus I continued in a scene of sin, until the fortieth 
year of my age ; yet many were the promises I made, 



834 Abbott's Conviction. 

during that period, to amend my life, but all to no 
purpose ; they were as often broken as made ; for as 
yet I never had beard the nature of conviction or con- 
version ; it Was a dark time respecting religion, and 
little or nothing ever said about experimental religion; 
and to my knowledge I never had heard either man 
or woman say that they had the pardoning love of 
God in their souls, or knew their sins were forgiven 
My wife was a member of the Presbyterian Church, 
and a praying woman; yet at that time she knew 
not! ling about a heart work. 

" About the thirty-third year of my age, 1 dreamed 
that I died and was carried to hell, which appeared to 
me to be a large place, arched over, containing three 
apartments, with arched doors to go from one apart- 
ment to another. 1 was brought to the first, when I 
saw nothing but devils and evil spirits, which tor- 
mented me in such a manner, that my tongue or pen 
cannot express, I cried for mercy, but in vain. There 
appeared to me a light, like a star, at a great distance 
from me ; I strove to get to it, but all in vain. Being 
hurried into the second apartment, the devils put me 
into a vice and tormented me until my body was all 
in a gore of blood. I cried again for mercy, but still 
mi vain. I observed that a light followed me, and I 
heard one say to me, ' How good doth this light appear 
to you. 5 I was soon hurried into the third apartment, 
where there were scorpions with stings in their tails, 
fastened in sockets at the end thereof; their tails 
appeared to be about a fathom Jong, and every time 
they struck me, their stings, which appeared an inch 



Abbott's Conviction, S3 5 

and a half in length, stuck fast in me, and they roared 
like thunder. Here I was constrained to cry again 
for mercy. As fast as I had pulled out the sting of 
one, another struck me. I was hurried through this 
apartment to a lake that burned with fire ; it appeared 
like a flaming furnace, and the flames dazzled like the 
sun. The devils were here throwing in the souls of 
men and women. There appeared two regiments of 
devils moving through the arches, blowing up the 
flames ; and when they came to the end, one regiment 
turned to the right and the other to the left, and came 
round the pit, and the screeches of the damned were 
beyond the expression of man. When it came to my 
turn to be thrown in, one devil took me by the head 
and another by the feet, and with the surprise I awoke 
and found it a dream. But O 1 what horror seized 
my guilty breast! I thought I should die and be 
damned. This brought seriousness to my mind for 
about eight or ten days, in which I made many prom- 
ises to mend my life, but they soon wore off again. 

" About five or six weeks after this, I dreamed that 
I died, and was carried into one of the most beautiful 
places I ever saw, and my guide brought me to one 
of the most elegant buildings I ever beheld, and when 
we came to it the gates opened of their own accord, 
and we went straight forward into the building, where 
we were met by a company of the heavenly host, 
arrayed in white raiment down to their feet. We 
passed on through the entry until we came to a door 
on the right, which stood about half open ; passing a 
a little forward, we made a stand before the door ; I 



336 Abbott's Conviction. 

looked in, and saw the Ancient of Days sitting upon 
his throne, and all around him appeared a dazzling 
splendor. I stood amazed at the sight ; one stepped 
forward to me arrayed in white, which I knew to be 
my wife's mother, and said to me, c Benjamin, this 
place is not for you yet ;' so I returned, and my guide 
brought me back. I awoke with amaze at what I had 
seen, and concluded that I should shortly die, which 
brought all my sins before me, and caused me to make 
many promises to God to repent, which lasted for 
some time ; but this wore off again, and I went to my 
old practices. One Sabbath day (our minister being 
sick, and my wife being a great meeting body), hear- 
ing that there was to be a Methodist meeting about 
ten or twelve miles distance, she expressed a desire to 
go to it, and asked my consent ; I gave it, and she 
and my oldest son went to hear the man. On their 
return, I asked her how she liked the preacher ; she 
replied, that he was as great a preacher as ever she 
had heard in all her life, and persuaded me to go and 
hear for myself. Accordingly on the next Sabbath I 
went. There was a large congregation assembled to 
hear the man ; his text was, Come unto me, all ye that 
labor and are heavy laden, and Twill give you rest — 
Matt, xi, 28. The preacher was much engaged, and 
the people were crying all through the house; this 
greatly surprised me, for I never had seen the like 
before. The sermon made no impression on me ; but 
when he came to the application, he said, ' It may be, 
that some of you may think that there is neither God 
nor devil, heaven nor hell, only a guilty conscience ; 



Abbott's Conviction. 337 

and indeed, my friends, that is bad enough. But,' 
said he, ' I assure you that there is both heaven and 
hell, God and devil.' I spoke, I am the man. But 
he went on and argued that fire was contained in 
everything, and that there was a dreadful hell that 
was beyond our comprehension, and advised the peo- 
ple to fly to Christ for refuge. He then showed the 
reality of the existence of a God, from a beautiful 
illustration of his works, which were evidenced to us 
daily, and that this God had created the heavens and 
earth. Then called upon the people to come unto 
God, for Christ had died for their redemption. There 
was much weeping and heavy groaning among the 
people. Meeting being over, the two dreams, that I 
had dreamed about seven years before, came as fresh 
into my mind as if dreamed the night before, and that 
God had shown me both heaven aad hell, the state of 
the blessed and the damned. This brought me to 
think of my misspent life, and in a moment all my 
sins that I ever had committed were brought to my 
view ; I saw it was the mercy of God that I was out 
of hell, and promised to amend my life in future." 

Here, reader, we have the experience of a convict. 
We must pass over much interesting experience of 
trances, and wonderful visions, until we arrive at the 
period of his conversion. He remarks : 

u I then thought upon a particular sin, which I con- 
cluded would condemn me, but in a moment I felt an 
evidence, that that sin was forgiven, as though sepa- 
rate from all the rest that ever I had committed ; but 
15 



338 His Conveesion. 

recollecting the minister had told me that ' I was under 
strong delusions of the devil, 1 it was suggested to my 
mind, it may be he is right ; I went a little out of the 
road, and kneeled down and prayed to God, if I was 
deceived, to undeceive me ; and the Lord said to me, 
4 Why do you doubt? Is not Christ all-sufficient? is 
he not able \ have you not felt his blood applied V I 
then sprang upon my feet, and cried out, not all the 
devils in hell, nor all the predestinarians on earth, 
should make me doubt ; for I knew that I was con- 
verted : at that instant I was filled with unspeakable 
raptures of joy." 

This is a true conversion. There is great difference 
between being converted to a creed, and being con- 
verted to God. We were converted to the Methodist 
doctrine when only thirteen years old ; but we were 
liable any moment to fall into perdition for all that. 
It was not until we were forty-two years old that we 
Were born, not of corruptible, but of incorruptible 
seed. We had dreams and visions similar to those 
Abbott experienced; but when converted we were 
wide awake, and shouted victory over the world, the 
flesh, and the Devil. 

We now reluctantly pass over much that would be 
interesting and appropriate to these pages, to the time 
when God sanctified him wholly* 

"Meeting with one of our preachers, I told him 
how great things the Lord had done for poor me. He 






His Sanctification. 389 

replied, it is nothing to what he will do for you, if you 
are faithful, for it is the will of God, even your sanc- 
tiiication ; why, said I, I am happy in God already, 
but if there is such a blessing to be had, I am deter- 
mined to have it, and from that time I began to seek 
for it. In examining, I fonnd in the Bible that it was 
the will of God even our sanctifi cation. I eoon hun- 
gered and thirsted for full salvation. In family prayer, 
one morning, the hand of the Lord came upon me in 
such a manner, that I felt the impression, as though 
one had laid a hand upon me, attended with such 
power that I thought I should die, but unbelief took 
place, and the power withdrew, or I believe that God 
would have sanctified me that moment. At night I 
was afraid to pray for such pow T er, for fear that God 
would kill me, therefore my prayer was only lip lan- 
guage ; by this time I got very dead. However, 
next night i prayed from my very heart, for the 
power again, live or die, and God poured out his 
Spirit upon us all in such a manner, that the place 
was glorious because of the presence of the Lord, 
and his dying love filled all our hearts. I was now 
engaged for the blessing more than ever. Soon 
after, D. Ruff came upon the circuit, and my house 
being a preaching place, he came and preached, and 
in the morning, in family prayer, he prayed that God 
would come and sanctify us soul and body. I repeated 
these words after him, ' Come, Lord, and sanctify me, 
soul and body I' That moment the Spirit of God came 
upon me in such a manner that I fell flat to the floor, 
and lay as one strangling in blood, while my wife and 






340 Our 'Sanctification. 

children stood weeping over me. But I had not power 
to lift hand or foot, nor yet to speak one word ; I 
believe I lay half an hour, and felt the power of God 
running through every part of my soul and body, 
like fire consuming the inward corruptions of fallen 
depraved nature. When I arose and walked out of 
the door, and stood pondering these things in my 
heart, it appeared to me that the whole creation w r as 
praising God ; it also appeared as if I had got new 
eyes, for everything appeared new, and 1 felt a love 
for all the creatures that God had made, and an unin- 
terrupted peace filled my breast. In three days God 
gave me a full assurance that he had sanctified me, 
soul and body." 

The reader w T ill permit us to quote our own experi- 
ence of entire sanctification. We have never seen 
any person's experience that agrees so well with ours 
as father Abbott's. Years ago, w r e related our experi- 
ence thus : 

"When a goodly number of Israel were seated 
around the stand, their minds calm as a May morn- 
ing, and free from excitement, Brother Gorham being 
appointed to preach, arose on the stand, and pointed 
out how and when he recovered the blessing of per- 
fect love. He also pointed out the dangers that stand 
thick around to deprive us of this jewel. He related 
his experience so plain, that a wayfaring man, though 
a fool, need not err in understanding the way. He 
also contrasted justification and sanctification ; and 
who is better able to set forth such truth than ho who 



Our Sanctification. 341 

has experienced both degrees of grace in his heart? 
and who is more unqualified to judge of such things 
than those who have never experienced them? Let 
us first remove the beam from our own eye, before 
mounting the judgment-seat. While sitting under the 
droppings of his words, which fell like honey on my 
soul, all my powers of faith and hope were drawn out 
to God for this blessing. I was enabled to lay hold 
on the very horns of the altar; and, while sitting in 
silent invocation, I was seized with a sudden trembling 
and a slight spasm, (as frequently occurs when I am 
filled to overflowing with the Spirit,) and my strength 
was measurably taken away, like the apostle Paul, 
1 whether in the body or out of the body, I knew not;' 
and I believe, for the first time in my life, I was made 
insensible in my waking moments of what was passing 
around me. There seemed to be presented to me, 
while in this state, literally an altar ; and I thought I 
was laid on it as you would lay a child on its couch ; 
and while lying in this posture, I thought a voice inter- 
rogated me thus : ' What do you want this blessing 
for V I thought I replied, ' To qualif} r me to preach 
the gospel.' That moment the Holy Ghost, like the 
refiner's fire, seemed to pass though my soul, literally 
shaking me from center to circumference, as if the 
earthly tenement was to be shaken to pieces. During 
the whole process, down to this last-mentioned circum- 
stance, I think I felt little or no joy, but rather the 
contrary. Like Moses, I did exceedingly fear and 
quake. But the moment after I felt this terrible shak- 
ing, the sun of righteousness broke into my soul with 



342 Our SANcriFicATioisr. 

its meridian brightness and glory, dispelling every 
cloud, and all darkness and doubt. My physical 
strength returned, and I suddenly rose on my feet, 
and shouted, 'It is done ! the mighty work is wrought.' 
"What angel can tell the happiness and heavenly rap- 
ture I then felt? ' 'Tis done !' 1 exclaimed." 

Reader, you have read the above experiences ; and 
we leave this chapter, we would warn you against pre- 
scribing ways in which, and means by which, God, 
as you suppose, must bless. The Devil will tell you, 
unless you have as great a tornado as Bro. A. or II., 
your experience is vain. You need not, like Saul of 
Tarsus, see a great light, or have a knock-down argu- 
ment. The gentle zephyr, the still small voice, is just 
as good, if it pleases God. Peace is the stream gently 
flowing ; joy, a river overflowing its banks, roaring 
and rushing as it rolls on, and leaps over the rapids. 



CHAPTEE FOETY-SECOOT), 



"Seomi gteittg/' 



Many in our Zion seem to hate, and do ridicule 
what has become a proverb in Methodism, viz, " Sec- 
ond blessing." They say God does his work perfectly 
— that the soul is entirely cured at the Savior's first 
touch. We refer to two exceptions : two blind men — 
one living during the Savior's life on earth, the other 
the author of this work. You remember the Savior, 
after leading the blind man out from among the mul- 
titude, touched his eyes, and he saw, but very imper- 
fectly ; he was still in the fog ; men appeared as trees 
walking. The great occulist then gave him the sacred 
touch, or in other words, he imparted the second bless- 
ing, then he saw everything as it was. This is pre- 
cisely the experience of your author. We receive the 
second touch, and God sent refining fire through our 
soul. Amen ! Halleluiah ! 



344 Two Blind Men. 

Many ridicule the term " Second blessing," and say 
we go in for the third, and the fourth, etc. They look 
like dwarfs, not only in religions experience, but in 
theology. Let Wesley rebuke his pretended followers. 
He hesitates not to call entire sanctification the sec- 
ond blessing. In his letters he speaks of it too fre- 
quently, to demand a quotation as the blessing, thus 
placing it before us as a distinct blessing. In a letter 
to Miss Jane Hilton he asks her, " was your second 
deliverance wrought while I was at Beverly " — using 
a phrase precisely equivalent to second blessing. 
Again, in a letter to Rev. Joseph Benson he says, 
"with all your zeal and diligence confirm the breth- 
ren * * * * in expecting a second change, whereby 
they shall be saved from all sin, and perfected in 
love." In another place he uses the term " Second 
blessing," and, to make the matter stronger, he imme- 
diately adds " properly so-called." 

Permit us, patient reader, to relate a little anecdote 
as an illustration of the effects of the second blessing. 
A good, home-spun, and sensible farmer, a year or two 
ago, took passage from White Hall to Albany in the 
cars. Among the passengers, there was a sprinkling 
of upper-tens of both sexes. [But our friend had lost 
his man-fearing spirit. He stood up for Jesus, and 



Wesley's View. 345 

went throuh the cars proclaiming a free and full sal- 
vation. He addressed alike rich and poor, high and 
low. As he passed along, some said he was drunk, 
others, that he was a fool, others still, that he was 
crazy ; but it so happened that one of his neighbors 
was aboard, and revealed the secret of his conduct. 
Says he, I know this man ; he is one of my neighbors. 
He performs the same when he is at home, going from 
house to house, lie is not a drinking man, neither is 
he foolish, or crazy ; but he is one of those pestry, 
troublesome Mothodists. He went off to a camp 
meeting last year, and got what they call the second 
blessing ; and now he can't keep still. This is the 
fruit that grows on this tree. So with father Abbott, 
and in a lesser degree with your author. ISTow, reader, 
if you are offended with the term Second blessing, 
you may call it the can't-keep-still-blessing — that will 
do just as well. Oh no ! we are mistaken. It is 
written, he that is ashsmed of me and ray words, of 
him will I be ashamed. Both the Savior and John 
the Baptist, were Christened by an angel before their 
birth, and it would have displeased God to have called 
them any other name ; and, it would be equally dis- 
pleasing to God to cast aside the terms "full assu- 
rance," M perfect love," " entire sanctification," " holi- 



34:6 Can't-Keep-Still. 

ness," etc. The attainment thus designated may fitly 
be called the " Second blessing," to distinguish it from 
the first, viz., conversion or justification. 
• We can enter into the heavenly Jerusalem only 
through three gates. The first gate is adoption, the 
second, perfection, the third, death. The only objec- 
tion which covetous men have to highways — turn- 
pikes and plank-roads — is, because there are gates 
erected, where a sacrifice of pennies is demanded ; so 
on the King's highway of holiness ; all would go to 
heaven, were it not for the sacrifices required at the 
gates, the way is so narrow, that nothing but soul 
and body can be admitted. We remember struggling 
for six months with our cheeks bathed in tears, trying 
to enter with soul, body, and sin ; but we beheld 
written over the gate in letters of light, nothing enter- 
eth here that defileth ; so we looked steadfastly to 
the Lamb, as he struggled in agony, while his human, 
was offered on the altar of his Divine nature ; and as 
we looked, cord after cord snapped, our burden rolled 
off and we leaped for joy through the straight gate, 
into the narrow way. Here we were freed from all 
our sins, except our bent of sinning ; but at the sec- 
ond gate we were cured of that. We had no desire 
to buy anything at vanity fair. The first gate was as 



Tukee Gates. 347 

the joy at Isaac's birth ; but the second as when he 
was weaned — when the milk was taken from him, and 
the more substantial food given. At this gate Abra- 
ham made a great feast. But the third gate Isaac 
went through blind, and so will your humble author. 
At this stage in our journey, we leave the old dilapi- 
dated house, its windows all broken in, to enter a 
royal palace. This is the gate to endless joy. A 
patient wife will live without complaint in an old, 
smoky log-cabin, if she beholds the grand brick house 
which her husband is builing ; so the soul fully 
redeemed. They can be happy in a mud edifice, 
while seeing ;; my heavenly home is bright and fair." 
The husband of the Church is now fitting up for his 
bride, a glorious house in the skies. 

A merchant once had an old piano, which had 
become a little out of fashion. It therefore, had to be 
moved from the parlor, to give place to one of mod- 
ern style. The old instrument was then given as a 
plaything for the children. They drummed on it 
until every string was broken, or out of tune, and then 
it was condemned to the garrett as rubbish. A few 
years after, a blind man came along, whose.business 
it was to tune pianos. He inquired of the merchant 
for a job. He said he had none to be tuned, except 



348 Old Piano. 

the old one, which we have described ; hut, says ho 
it was once a grand toned instrument ; it got out of 
fashion, then out of tune, and is now in the rubbish 
of the garret ; and he added, that it would be impos- 
sible to put it again in tune. The blind man thought 
differently, and proposed to try it. The merchant 
consented on condition, that nothing should be paid, 
until the job was done, and the instument put in tune. 
At it he went, first clearing away the rat's nests and 
cobwebs. The first day he got one string to give a 
proper tone ; soon after the second, and so on, until 
every string gave its proper sound. The instrument 
after refiting, was the best in town. So the Holy 
Ghost repairs a fallen soul, and puts it in tune for 
heaven. Drunkards, harlots, blasphemers, infidels, 
cast away by the church, considered as candidates for 
perdition, not worth praying for, are repaired, and 
tuned up, so that they are fit for the melodies of 
heaven. The first thing is to clear away sinful actions, 
the next is to perfect the bass string of repentence, 
then to give the string of faith the right ring, then 
regeneration, adoption, and so on, until every string 
is in order and gives the Gospel tone, and all are har- 
monious with each other. This perfect harmony 
within, is Christian perfection. The old case may 



Perfection. ' 349 

have a leg marred or broken, and be half a cen- 
tury behind the fashion ; but when Gabriel shall blow, 
the vile body shall be changed, glorified, and made 
the fit habitation of a glorified Spirit. Here is the 
highest perfection of humanity. On earth we may 
have a perfection of moral character ; in heaven 
only, do we arrive at the perfection of manhood. 



CHAPTER FORTY-THIRD. 



§Mjamin JJMwtt 



In this chapter we give extracts, showing a few 
specimens of the wonders that occurred, during the 
ministry of Mr. Abbott. He met the Devil in all 
shapes. He made many blunders ; but he gained 
glorious victories. He was a perfet magazine of pow- 
erful influence. God was his front guard and rear- 
ward. Wherever he went, the power and glory of 
God were manifested. 

" June 1st, I preached in town : in the morning we 
had a melting time, many wept. In the afternoon the 
Lord poured out his Spirit, and the slain fell beta? c 
him like dead men ; others lay as in the agonies of 
death, intreating God to have mercy on their souls : 
some found peace. Glory to God, many in this town 
seemed alarmed of their danger ; may the Lord 
increase their number. A girl who lived with a Qua- 



Life of Abbott. 351 

ker, was cut to the heart in such a manner, that they 
did not know how to get her home ; I went to see her, 
and found many round her, both white and black. 
She lay as one near her last gasp ; I kneeled down 
and besought God for her deliverence, and in a few 
minutes she broke out in raptures of joy, crying out, 
Let me go to Jesus ! repeating it several times ; then 
she arose and went home. Glory to God ! for what 
my eyes saw, my ears heard, and my soul felt that 
day, of the blessed Spirit : the meeting continued 
from three o'clock, until evening. 

Two young women at a certain place and time, sit- 
ting in their father's house, one said unto the other, if 
mammy had religion I should get it too. The Lord 
struck her with conviction, in such a manner, that she 
cried so loud for mercy, that she alarmed all the house 
with her cries ; and thus she continued, until three of 
her sisters were all struck with a like conviction for 
sin. Their cries to God continued near forty-eight 
hours, with little intermission, when God, in his infi- 
nite mercy, set two of their souls at liberty, to rejoice 
in his redeeming love. Another of them came to 
town, and met me, and I went home with her. As 
we were riding along the road, she, being under sore 
distress of soul, cried aloud for mercy, and God broke 
in upon her soul in such a manner, that she clapped 
her hands and cried, Glory to God in the highest ! 
There was another young woman in the carriage with 
her, and the power of God struck her in so wonderful 
a ma mer, th; t she lost the use of her limbs, and lay 



352 Life of Abbott. 

about an hour ; when she came to, her first words 
were, Is this perfect love ? In time of prayer, at the 
meeting we attended, God poured out his Spirit in 
such a manner, that several fell to the floor, with such 
cries and screeches, that a solemn awe sat on every 
face, and before the meeting ended, six souls were set 
at liberty, to rejoice in the Bock of Ages. Thanks 
be to God. 

Monday, June 2d, in prayer meeting in the eve- 
ning, the Lord was with us of a truth. Next day, I 
preached and had a melting time : at night the Lord 
was with us in power, and we had a proper shout. 
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion ; shout, O 
daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy king cometh 
unto thee ; he is just, and having salvation." Zech. 
ix, 9. 

June 4th, I preached, and the Lord laid to his 
almighty power ; several fell to the floor ; some pro- 
fessed sanctification, and two to be justified : believ- 
ers were built up in the most holy faith. 

June 5th, I preached, and the Lord poured out his 
Spirit in mighty power ; the cry of mourners was so 
great that the noise might have been heard afar off. 
Several were set at liberty from the bondage of sin 
and Satan, and were made partakers of that love 
which makes glad the city of God. One professed 
sanctification, and several were awakened : thanks be 
to the Most High. 

June 6th, the Lord, under the word, poured out his 
Spirit in such a manner, that three or four found 



Life of Absott. 353 

peace, and two professed sanctification. Believers 
were built tip, and it was a good day to many souls. 
At night, we had a proper shout, one fell to the floor, 
and lay as if she were dead, and when she came to, 
she shouted and gave glory to God for her deliv- 
erance. 

I met class at sister Brown's. There we had a 
powerful time, several were lost as in the ocean of 
redeeming love. Glory to God forever ! One was 
sanctified in a powerful manner at that meeting, and 
in the evening we had a melting time. The Lord 
filled one of our sisters with perfect love, in the car- 
riage as she was returning home, in such a powerful 
manner, that she lost both the power of her body and 
speech ; but when she recovered herself, she said that 
God had given her a clean heart, and had filled her 
soul with love. 

Sunday, June 8th, we held a love feast, and the 
Lord laid his helping hand upon us, and poured out 
his Spirit in such a manner, that not one soul spoke 
their experience in love feast. Sinners trembled and 
fell to the floor, while Christians shouted praises to 
God and the Lamb forever. One lay as if she were 
dead ; numbers were powerfully wrought upon. This 
was a love feast indeed : I never saw but one like it 
before, in which no one spoke their experience. I 
preached that day with great freedom and power. 

Monday, 9th, I held prayer meeting, and the Lord 
manifested his love among us. There was a shaking 
among the dry bones. One lay as if she were dead, 






354 Life of Abbott. 

for near two hours, and then came to with praises to 
God for her deliverance, with great raptures of joy. 
The children of God were filled with joy unspeak- 
able. How inexpressible are the pleasures of those, 
who are filled with the raptures of a Savior's love ! 
Ecstatic pause ! " Silence heightens heaven ! " 

Friday, 13th, I held prayer meeting and the power 
of the Lord fell upon the people in such a manner, 
that the slain lay all over the floor. Several were 
converted to God ; one or two professed sanctifica- 
tion : Glory to God, he carried on his own work. 

Saturday, 14th, I preached, and had a melting 
time. I met class, and the power of the Lord came 
down, and we had a shout in the camp of the 
Lord. 

Sunday, 15th, the Lord attended the word with 
power, and divers fell before him like Dagon before 
the ark. I was obliged to leave the slain on the floor, 
in order to attend my next appointment, where I 
found a large congregation, to whom I preached. In 
class, we had a melting time, and a shout in the camp. 
It was a day of his power ; he worked and none 
could hinder him. Next day, I preached at a new 
place, and had a favored time ; some sighed, and 
some groaned, and others wept. 

Tuesday, 17th, I preached, and the Lord attended 
the word with power ; several were cut to the heart, 
and one found peace to her soul. Blessed be God, he 
has not forgotten to be gracious. " They that seek 
shall find." 



Life of Abbott. 355 

Wednesday, 18th. This was a clay of power. I 
preached, and the Lord attended the word with the 
energy of his Spirit. Saint and sinner felt iiis power; 
numbers cried aloud for mercy, and several found. 
Him of whom Moses and the prophets wrote. One 
lay as in the agony of death for some time, hut glory 
to God, he set his soul at liberty, whereby he was ena- 
bled to rejoice in his glorious love. 

Thursday, 19th, I preached to a few, but there was 
nothing done to speak of. However, I found peace 
in my own soul. At evening, I met class, and the 
Lord was with us of a truth, we had a shout in the 
camp of Jesus. 

Sunday, 22d, I preached with life and power ; and 
the Lord manifested his presence among us ; some 
cried for mercy, and a solemn awe sat on many faces. 
I went to my next appointment, and preached to a 
large congregation. The Lord laid to his helping 
hand, and there was a mighty shaking among the dry 
bones : divers persons lay through the house, as dead 
men and women slain by the mighty power of God. 
The same Jesus who raised Lazarus from the dead, 
raised up nine persons, that we could ascertain, to 
praise him as a sin-pardoning God ; and how many 
more, that we could not ascertain, God only knows : 
for many wept, and some shouted praises to God and 
the Lamb : glory to God, this was a day that will be 
long remembered by many precious souls. Some 
were so filled and running over with perfect love, that 
as they returned home they shouted praises to God 



356 Life of Abbott. 

as they went on their way. I was as happy as I 
could live in the body. 

Monday, 23d, I held a prayer meeting, and it was 
a good time to many ; some were so tilled with the 
love of God that it took away the use of their limbs, 
and they lay on the floor as happy as they could live, 
rejoicing in the God and rock of their salvation. We 
had at that time about twelve children on the circuit, 
who were happy in religion, and the Lord was doing 
great things for many. My soul was on the wing. 

Tuesday, 24th, I held another prayer meeting, and 
had a powerful time. Next day 1 met class, and we had 
a melting time. At night I preached, and the power 
of the Lord was present to the joy of his children ; 
and we had a shout in the assembly. " Cry out and 
shout, thou inhabitant of Zion : for great is the Holy 
One of Israel in the midst of thee." Isa. xii, 6. 

Thursday, 26th, we had an awful time : numbers 
cried out for mercy, and the Lord set some at liberty, 
to rejoice in his redeeming love. " Let thy priests be 
clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in 
goodness." 2 Chron. vi, 41. 

Friday, 27th, I preached, and the Lord laid to his 
almighty arm of power, in such a [manner, that several 
lay as if they were in the agony of death ; some trem- 
bled, and others cried aloud for mercy. Glory to the 
eternal God, he slays, and he makes alive. In his 
mercy he set several at liberty, to rejoice in his 
redeeming love. This was a day of his power to 
many souls, and my soul was happy. 



Life of Abbott. 357 

Sunday, 29th, I preached twice, as usual on the 
Sabbath ; in the morning we had a precious time, and 
in the afternoon we had a shout of a king in the camp. 
Some were rejoicing in redeeming love ; and others 
were crying in bitternes of soul, for mercj at the hand 
of God ; while the power of the Lord slew others, as 
men cut down in battle. It was a day of days to 
many souls. Glory to the eternal God ! This meeting 
continued from three o'clock until evening. 

July 3d, I preached, and had a precious time; then 
I met class, and the presence of the Lord was among 
us. " For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of 
thy camp to deliver thee." JDeut. xxiii, 14. ISText 
day the Lord was with us of a truth : one was set at 
liberty, and several of the friends seemed lost in the 
ocean of God's love. In the afternoon we had a melt- 
ing time among the friends. At night, we held a 
prayer meeting, and many were slain before the Lord; 
one professed to be justified freely by his grace ; 
another professed sanctification. This was a time, to 
my soul, long to be remembered ; and I trust it will 
be remembered by many others. This meeting con- 
tinued until near three o'clock. 

Friday, 4th, I preached from 1 John, iv, 16, "God 
is love." It was a time of love indeed : for divers of 
God's dear children were lost in the ocean of redeem- 
ing grace ; and the God of love spoke peace to three 
souls. That day will never be forgotten to my soul ; 
Though I was weak in body, I was strong in Spirit- 



358 Life of Abbott. 

Sunday, 6th, 1 preached in the morning, and it was 
a good time to many ; several cried aloud, some 
seemed lost in the ocean of redeeming love, and I was 
so happy that I could hardly refrain from crying out. 
In the aiternoon, we had a large congregation ; and 
the devil got angry, and made one of his servants 
throw some stones. We had a happy time in class : 
afterward I went home with one of our friends, and 
held a prayer meeting, and the Master of assemblies 
was with as. 

Monday evening I held a prayer meeting, and had 
a melting time : some of the friends were lost as in 
wonder, love, and praise. The next clay I held a 
prayer meeting again, and the Lord was with us. 
Some cried out, ' c Praise the Lord, O my soul i and 
all that is within me, praise his holy name.'" The 
next day likewise, I held a prayer meeting, and we 
had a comfortable time. 

Friday, 11th, 1 preached a funeral sermon, and the 
Lord was present with us. At night I held a prayer 
meeting, and we had a melting time. The next day 
the Lord was with us in a powerful manner ; some 
cried out, and others were lost in the ocean of love, 
and I was happy in my own soul : blessed be God, he 
lias not forgotten to be gracious. 

Sunday, 13th, in the forenoon 1 preached to a large 
congregation, and the Lord laid to his helping hand : 
some lay on the floor as in the agony of death ; others 
were crying aloud for mercy, and some were shout- 
ing praises to God, being filled with his love. Seve- 



Life of Abbott. 359 

ral fled out of the house, choosing rather to risk their 
lot among the damned, than to expose themselves in 
the congregation by asking mercy at the hand of 
God. The Lord set one soul at liberty, and another 
prefessed sanctiflcation, "The Lord's hand is not 
shortened." In the afternoon I went to my other 
appointment, where I met a large congregation, to 
whom I preached, and the Lord made bare his arm in 
such a manner, that there was a shaking among the 
dry bones : some cried aloud, others were happy 
in God. Glory to his dear name, my soul was happy 

Monday, 14th, I preached, and had a melting time; 
sinners were cut to the heart, believers were transport- 
ed with the presence of God, and my heart was swal- 
lowed up in redeeming love. I joined ten in society; 
may God record their names in the Lambs book of 
life. In the evening I preached again, and the Lord 
poured out his Spirit, and we had a shout in the camp 
of Israel. 

Next day, under preaching, the power of God was 
with us in such a manner that some wept, and others 
seemed lost in the ocean of love. One professed 
sanctiflcation, and another was so struck by the 
mighty power of God, that she shook from head to 
foot, as if in the agony of death, for near the space of 
two hours, sometimes crying to God for mercy, at 
other times that her heart would break ; at length her 
strength failed, and she lay for a time like one dead : 
when she came to, she praised God for her deliver- 
ance, while many stood around her amazed, Glory 



360 Life of Abbott. 

to God for a miracle of grace ! I was so happy that I 
could hardly utter a sentence, until God withdrew 
his hand a little. "Were we to be always thus happy ? 
we should be disqualified for earth, or worldly things. 
O ! what raptures shall we have in heaven ! 

Wednesday, 16th, I preached, and the Lord poured 
out his spirit, both under the word and in class, in so 
wonderful a manner that a woman lay under the 
mighty operation of the spirit of God, as one dead for 
the space of three hours ; several felt her hands and 
arms, and they were apparently cold, as if she had 
been dead and laid out; but glory to God, when he 
by his Spirit revived her, she could testify that he 
had sanctified her soul, and filled her with joy 
unspeakable. Several of the friends were baptized 
in the fountain of love; and for my own part, I was so 
filled with the love of God that 1 could hold no more. 
"It was good measure, pressed down, and shaken 
together, and running over." Luke vi, 38. I adore 
God for what I have felt and seen ; my tongue or pen 
can never express it, on this side of eternity. 

Saturday, 19th, our quarterly meeting began, and 
we had a blessed time to many souls. 

Sunday, 20th, our meeting began at six o'clock in 
the morning, and when we had sung and prayed, the 
power of God came down in such a manner, that the 
slain lay all through the house. Some seemed lost in 
the ocean of God's love, some professed justification, 
and others that God had sanctified their souls. This 
meeting was so powerful, that but one attempted to 






Life of Abbott. 361 

speak her experience in love feast ; while she was 
speaking, she sunk down, crying ont, God has made 
me all love ! immediately the house was filled with 
cries and praises to God ; some trembled and were 
astonished. We had to cany the slain out of the 
house, in order to make room, that the people might 
come in to the public preaching ; and when we had 
sung and prayed, the presence of the Lord came 
down as in the days of old, and the house was filled 
with his glory ; the people fell before him like men 
slain in battle. It was a great day of God's power to 
many souls ; some professed sanctification, some jus- 
tification, and others were lost as in the ocean of 
redeeming love. This was a day of days to my soul. 
The windows being open, there were hundreds out- 
side gazing at those in the house, who were, slain 
before the Lord ; but they lay both in the house and 
out of it. Prayers were put up to God, both within 
and without the house, in behalf of the penitents and 
and mourners. I trust "that many date their con- 
viction, and others their conversion, from that quar- 
terly meeting. I went from this meeting to brother 

D 's, with some other friends, where we joined in 

prayer, and the Lord (glory to his name) poured out 
of his Spirit in a powerful manner among us. I then 
went home with some friends, where we sung praises 
to God ; and while we were singing, the power of 
God fell on me in such a manner, that I cried out : 
the power reached all in the room, and one fell to the 
floor, crying to God ; after some time, she cried out, I 
16 



862 Life of Abbott. 

Bee Jesus ! (repeating it several times,) and then, I see 
Moses and Elias ! but not with my bodily eyes. She 
then cried out, I am going ! my arms are dead ! call 
Mrs. A. "When Mrs. A. came, she told her that she 
saw her mother standing in white ; then gave some 
Words of exhortation to repentance ; she then died 
away, and lay in that state about twenty minutes : 
afterward she came to, and declared that the Lord had 
sanctified her soul, praising God and the Lamb, in 
raptures of joy. Another fell as if she had been 
shot, and lay some time : when she came to, she like- 
wise professed sanctifying grace. This little meeting 
held about four hours. 

Monday, I held prayer meeting in the evening, and 
God visited us in such a manner, that several fell to 
the floor ; some professed to find Him of whom Moses 
and the prophets wrote ; this meeting held until three 
in the morning. 

Tuesday, I met class, and had a melting time ; the 
members seemed swallowed up in the ocean of love. 
One was sanctified in a powerful manner. It was a 
happy time to my soul. In the evening, under preach- 
ing, the Lord set the soul of one at liberty, to rejoice 
in his love. " The shout of a king was among them." 
Num. xxiiij 21. 

Wednesday, under the word, some found peace, and 
one experienced sanctifying grace ; many were lost 
as in the ocean of love, and we again had the shout 
of a king in the camp. 



Life of Abbott. 363 

Thursday, in the forenoon, under preaching, God 
poured out his Spirit in a powerful manner ; his chil- 
dren were happy in his love, and it was a good time 
to my own soul. In the evening we had a peaceable 
waiting before God. How pleasant is it to be found 
in the work of the Lord when the blessed Redeemer 
is with us. 

Next day, I preached and met class, and we had a 
precious time among the children of God. At night, 
I held a prayer meeting, and the power of the Lord 
was present among us ; one professed justification, 
and God's children were built up in their most holy 
faith. Nothing is so encouraging to a minister, as to 
see sinners converted, and the people of God going 
forward in their journey toward the heavenly 
Canaan. 

Saturday, 26th, I went to quarterly meeting, Dover 
circuit, Rent county, Delaware state : we had a 
happy day. On Sunday, in love feast, the Lord God 
of Elijah, who answereth by fire, poured out his 
Spirit in such a manner, that the altar of the Chris- 
tians' hearts was all in a flame with the seraphic fire 
of love. "Elijah, the prophet came near, and said, 
Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it 'be 
known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that 
I am thy servant, &e. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, 
that this people may know that thou art the Lord 
God, &c. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and con- 
sumed the burnt sacrifice, <&c* And when the people 



364: Life of Abbott* 

saw it, they fell on their faces : and they said, the 
Lord, he is the God ; the Lord, he is the God." 1 
Kings xviii, 36-39. So on that day, when the fire of 
the Lord came down, the people fell and acknowl- 
edged the power of God ; and the slain lay all about 
the house ; some were carried out as dead men and 
women ; while others were lost in the ocean of love, 
shouting praises to God and the Lamb. The house 
was filled with the glory of Israel's God, who spoke 
peace to mourners, while sinners were cut to the heart. 
Glory to God, it was a high day to my own soul. It 
was thought there were about fifteen hundred looking 
on, with wonder and amazement, at the mighty 
power of God, which caused the powers of hell to 
shake and give way ; and many of the spectators 
trembled and were astonished ; a number professed 
faith in Christ, and others sanctifying grace : God's 
dear children, generally, were refreshed in redeeming 
love. This was one of the days of the son of man. 
Glory to God, saith my soul. 

Monday, I was very unwell, but happy in the love 
of God. On Tuesday, in family prayer, the power of 
God came down wonderfully upon us ; four fell to the 
floor, and they found " Him of whom Moses in the 
law, and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth," 
to the joy of their souls. 

Wednesday, 30th, I held prayer meeting, and the 
Lord made bare his almighty power, to the joy of his 
children ; one fell to the floor, divers were plunged in 



Life of Abbott. 365 

the ocean of love, and we had a shout in the camp 
of Israel. 

Thursday, I met class ; one fell to the floor, entreat- 
ing God for mercy, and soon lay as one dead for 
near an hour ; it was a happy time to the children 
of God." 



CHAPTER FORTY-FOURTH. 



f *to fetterig|t 



When God made a contract with !Noah, to build a 
safety barge, he specified the length and breadth, the 
height and depth, he desired to have it. So when we 
began this book, we prescribed its dimensions. But 
have made it nearly twice as large as we first contem- 
plated ; and yet, there is timber to go in. 

We promised the reader a call upon the Western Pio- 
neers ; those who biased their way through a wilder- 
ness, filled with lurking savages, to the most remote 
settlements. In this chapter we introduce Rev. Peter 
Cartwright, one of the most eccentric wheels in the 
Gospel machinery. We regret that we can spare him 
only a few pages. We wish to give a variety, and 
hence will pass on to make other calls, after a brief 
story. 



" Uncle Petee." 367 

We will take from " Uncle Peter," an aoccunt of 
the "jerking spirit," one which has frequently made 
its advent, in different ages of the Church. Eternity 
only, will fully settle the questions, whether it came 
from above or below, and whether its fruit was good 
or evil. One thing is certain, no spirit is suffered to 
act upon mortals, except, with the consent of the 
Almighty, who 

" Moves in a mysterious "way, 
His wonders to perform." 

From 1801, for years, a blessed revival of religion 
spread through almost the entire inhabited parts of 
the West, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and 
many other parts, especially through the Cumberland 
country, which was so called from the Cumberland 
Kiver, which headed and mouthed in Kentucky, but 
in its -great bend circled south through Tennessee, 
near Nashville. The Presbyterians and Methodists 
in a great measure united in this work, met together, 
prayed together, and preached together. 

In this revival originated our camp-meetings, and 
in both these denominations they were held every year, 
and, indeed, have been ever since, more or less. They 
would erect their camps with logs or frame them, and 
cover them with clapboards or shingles. They would 
also erect a shed, sufficiently large to protect five thou- 
sand people from wind and rain, and cover it with 
boards or shingles ; build a large stand, seat the shed, 
and here they would collect together from forty to fifty 
16 



368 Extract on Jkkxing. 

miles around, sometimes further than that. Ten, 
twenty, and sometimes thirty ministers, of different 
denominations, would come together and preach night 
and day, four or five days together ; and, indeed, I 
have known these camp-meetings to last three or four 
w r eeks, and great good resulted from them. 1 have 
seen more than a hundred sinners fall like dead 
men under one powerful sermon, and I have seen and 
heard more than five hundred Christians all shouting 
aloud the high praises of God at once ; and I w T ill ven- 
ture to assert, that many happy thousands were awak- 
ened and converted to God at these camp-meetings. 
Some sinners mocked, some of the old dry professors 
opposed, some of the old starched Presbyterian 
preachers preached against these exercises, but still 
the work went on and spread almost in every direc- 
tion, gathering additional force, until our country 
seemed all coming home to God. 

In this great revival, the Methodists kept moder- 
ately balanced ; for we had excellent preachers to 
steer the ship, or guide the flock. But some of our 
members ran wild, and indulged in some extravagan- 
cies that were hard to control. 

The Presbyterian preachers and members, not being 
accustomed to much noise or shouting, when they 
yielded to it went into great extremes and downright 
wildness, to the great injury of the cause of God. 
Their old preachers licensed a great many young men 
to preach, contrary to their Confession of Faith. 
That Confession of Faith required their ministers to 



Dissatisfaction. 369 

believe in unconditional election and reprobation, 
and the unconditional and final perseverance of the 
saints. But in this revival, they, almost to a man, 
gave up these points of high Calvinism, and 
preached a free salvation to all mankind. The West- 
minster Confession required every man, before he 
could be licensed to preach, to have a liberal educa- 
tion ; but this qualification was dispensed with, and a 
great many fine men were licensed to preach without 
this literary qualification, or subscribing to those 
high-toned doctrines of Calvinism. 

This state of things produced great dissatisfaction 
in the Synod of Kentucky, and messenger after mes- 
senger was sent to wait on the Presbytery, to get 
them to desist from their erratic course, but with- 
out success. Finally, they were cited to trial before 
the constituted authorities of the Church. Some 
were censured, some were suspended, some retraced 
their steps, while others surrendered their credentials 
of ordination, and the rest were cut off from the 
Church. 

While in this amputated condition, they called a 
general meeting of all their licentiates. They met 
our presiding elder, J. Page, and a number of Meth- 
odist ministers at a quarterly meeting in Logan 
County, and proposed to join the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church as a body; but our aged ministers declined 
this offer, and persuaded them to rise up and embody 
themselves together, and constitute a Church. They 
reluctantly yielded to this advice, and, in due time 



370 New Church. 

and form, constituted what they denominated the 
" Cumberland Presbyterian Church ; " and in their 
confession of faith split, as they supposed, the differ- 
ence between the Predestinarians and the Methodists, 
rejecting a partial atonement, or special election and 
reprobation, but retaining the doctrine of the final 
unconditional perseverance of the saints. 

What an absurdity ! While a man remains a sin- 
ner he may come, as a free agent, to Christ, if he will, 
and if he does not come, his damnation will be just, 
because he refused offered mercy ; but as soon as he 
gets converted, his free agency is destroyed, the best 
boon of Heaven is then lost, and, although lie may 
backslide, wander away from Christ, yet he shall be 
brought in. He cannot finally be lost, if he has ever 
been really converted to God. 

They make a very sorry show in their attempt to 
support this left foot of Calvanism. But, be it spoken 
to their credit, they do not often preach this doc- 
trine. They generally preach Methodist doctrine, 
and have been the means of doing a great deal of 
good, and would have done much more, if they had 
left this relic of John Calvin behind. 

In this revival, usually termed in the west the Cum- 
berland revival, many joined the different Churches, 
especially the Methodist and Cumberland Presby- 
terians. The Baptists also came in for a share of the 
converts, but not to any great extent. Infidelity 
quailed before the mighty power of God, which was 
displayed among the people. Universalism was 



The "Jerks." 371 

almost driven from the land. The Predestinarians of 
almost all sorts put forth a mighty effort to stop the 
work of God. 

Just in the midst of our controversies on the subject 
of the powerful exercises among the people under 
preaching, a new exercise broke out among us, called, 
the jerks, which was overwhelming in its effects upon 
the bodies and minds of the people. No matter 
whether they were saints or sinners, they would be 
taken under a warm song or sermon, and seized with 
a convulsive jerking all over, which they could not 
by any possibility avoid, and the more they resisted 
the more they jerked. If they would not strive 
against it, and pray in good earnest, the jerking 
would usually abate. I have seen more than five 
hundred persons jerking at one time in my large 
congregations. Most usually, persons taken with 
the jerks, to obtain relief, as they said, would rise up 
and dance. Some would run, but could not get 
away. Some would resist ; on such, the jerks were 
generally very severe. 

To see those proud young gentlemen and young 
ladies, dressed in their silks, jewelry, and prunella, 
from top to toe, take the jerks, would often excite my 
risibilities. The first jerk or so, you would see their 
fine bonnets, caps, and combs fly ; and so sudden 
would be the jerking of the head, that their long 
loose hair would crack almost as loud as a wagone'rs 
whip. 

At one of my appointments in 1804, there was a 
very large congregation turned out to hear the Ken- 



372 H.OESE WHIPPING. 

tucky boy, as they called me. Among the rest, there 
were two very finely dressed, fashionable young 
ladies, attended by two brothers with loaded horse- 
whips. Although the house was large, it was crowd- 
ed. The two young ladies, coming in late, took their 
seats near where I stood, and their two brothers stood 
in the door. I was a little unwell, and I had a phial 
of peppermint in my pocket. Before I commenced 
preaching, I took out my phial and swallowed a little 
of the peppermint. While I was preaching, the con- 
gregation was melted into tears. The two young gen- 
tlemen moved oif to the yard fence, and both the 
young ladies took the jerks, and they were greatly 
mortified about it. There was a great stir in the con- 
gregation. Some wept, some shouted, and before our 
meeting closed, several were converted. 

As I dismissed the assembly, a man stepped up to 
me, and warned me to be on my guard, for he had 
heard the two brothers swear they would horsewhip 
me when meeting was out, for giving their sisters the 
jerks. " Well," said I, " I'll see to that." 

I went out and said to the young men that I under- 
stood they intended to horsewhip me, for giving their 
sisters the jerks. One "replied that he did. I under- 
took to expostulate with him on the absurdity of the 
charge against me, but he swore I need not deny it ; 
for he had seen me take out a phial, in which I car- 
ried some truck that gave his sisters the jerks. As 
quick as thought it came to my mind, how I would 
get clear of my whipping, and, jerking out the pep- 



Blaspheming. 373 

permint phial, said I, "Yes ; if I gave your sisters the 
jerks, I'll give them to you." In a moment I saw he 
was scared. I moved toward him, he backed, I ad- 
vanced, and he wheeled and ran, warning me not to 
come near him, or he would kill me. It raised the 
laugh on him, and I escaped my whipping. I had 
the pleasure, before the year was out, of seeing all 
four soundly converted to God, and I took them into 
the Church. 

While I am on this subject, I will relate a very seri- 
ous circumstance which 1 knew to take place with a 
man who had the jerks at a camp-meeting, on what 
was called the Ridge, in William Magee's congrega- 
tion. There was a great work of religion in the 
encampment. The jerks were very prevalent. There 
was a company of drunken rowdies who came to 
interrupt the meeting. These rowdies were headed 
by a very large drinking man. They came with their 
bottles of whiskey in their pockets. This large man 
cursed the jerks, and all religion. Shortly afterward 
he took the jerks, and he started to run, but he jerked 
so powerfully he could not get away. He halted 
among some saplings, and, although he was violently 
agitated, he took out his bottle of whiskey, and swore 
he would drink the damned jerks to death ; but he 
jerked at such a rate, he could not get the bottle to 
his mouth, though he tried hard. At length he 
fetched a sudded jerk, and the bottle struck a sapling 
and was broken to pieces, and spilled his whiskey on 
the ground. There was a great crowd gathered 



374: Divine Agency. 

round him, and when he lost his whiskey he became 
very much enraged, and cursed and swore very pro- 
fanely, his jerks still increasing. At length he fetched 
a very violent jerk, snapped his neck, fell, and soon 
expired, with his mouth full of cursing and bit- 
terness. 

I always looked upon the jerks, as a judgment sent 
from God, first, to bring sinners to repentance ; and, 
secondly, to show professors that God could work 
with or without means, and he could work over 
and above means, and do whatsoever seemeth him 
good, to the glory of his grace, and the salvation 
of the world." 

Mr. Cartwright relates many other extraordinary 
things. Many in his time set the day when the world 
was to be burned ; others had a horrid compound of 
Mormonism, and other sister spirits, boiling and foam- 
ing in the Devil's cauldron, heated by wildfire fed 
with brambles. It puts me in mind of the witches' 
cauldron of Shakspeare. He, as do all other evangel- 
ical ministers, preached against these things. The 
Devil displays two methods to ruin souls ; if he can- 
not draw them back into Babylon, and kill them with 
frost, he will shove them off the high cliff of fanat- 
aticism, and burn them with wildfire. But we agree 
with Bro. Cartwright, that the jerks were from God 
directly ; partly as a judgment on incorrigible sin- 



Slaying Power. 375 

tiers, such as the blasphemous rum-seller ; also, as a 
means to arouse the sleeping virgins, and to bring 
sinners to repentance. But did the Spirit break the 
neck of the rummy? Remember Ananias and Sap- 
phira. The Holy Ghost slew them for lying, and the 
rummy for blasphemy. Here is a warning to all who 
carry liquor to a place of worship in their pockets ; 
and, also to all who lie to the Holy Ghost. We have 
the same law-giver, who is able to create and destroy. 
One evidence that the jerking spirit was from God, 
was, that it came during a "warm sermon, or song." 
Would God dishonor himself by permitting the 
advent of a devilish spirit, during a song of praise, 
or a Holy Ghost sermon? We should blush at the 
thought. God cannot permit his own word to be dis- 
graced. 

We call especial notice to this, in the above extract. 
Mr. Cartwright says, " he has seen more than a hun- 
dred sinners fall like dead men under one powerful 
sermon, and has seen and heard more than five hun- 
dred Christians all shouting aloud the high praises of 
God at once." What a spectacle would this be in the 
new, double-steepled Trinity M. E. Church, in the 
city of New York ; or in the new Grecian, polished 
marble M. E. Church, in Fourth Street ! Only think, 
a hundred men and women laying on the floor, with 



376 Divine Power. 

the arrows of God rankling in their hearts, smiting 
their breasts, and crying for mercy ; and all around 
them, five hundred brethren and sisters shouting the 
high praises of God from the tops of the mountains ; 
— and all this uproar caused by one powerful sermon ! 
O ! Lord give us preachers and sermons like the neck 
of Job's horse, " clothed with thunder." Amen ! Mr. 
Cartwright says, starched up Presbyterian?; tried in 
vain to stop the work ; and we blush to say, that in 
latter days starched up Methodists have endeavored 
to stop God's mighty work. 

But our visit must end. It is time to call on Bro. 
Finley ; so farewell " Uncle Peter, till we meet in 
heaven." 



CHAPTER FORTY-FIFTH. 



i. §. tm. 



We now hail with great joy the Rev. J. B. Finley. 
"As we open his autobiography, and endeavor to make 
a selection of extracts, we are like the honey bee 
poised over a garden of flowers, his eye ravished 
with their variegated charms, his faith measuring the 
abundance of their sweetness, yet knowing that he 
can descend on but a single flower, and draw ironi 
the bottom of one little cell. Mr. JTinley commenced 
his career as a minister in the West, about sixty years 
ago, and entered upon his everlasting rest in the 
year 1S5S. His father was a high-toned Calvinistic 
preacher, who endeavored to thrust down into the 
heart of his son, election, reprobation, and kindred 
doctrines ; but . not having powers to digest such 
spikes and irons, he cast them up and turned to better 



378 Sixty Years Ago. 

things, as a pigeon casts up a crop full of wild seeds 
as it lights in a wheat field, and fills its little granary 
with pure wheat. He stowed away, in his great heart, 
the blessed doctrines of a free and full salvation. 

The reader, if his tastes are like ours, will pardon 
us if we turn away from the- noisy scenes which now 
occupy us, to attend a marriage feast. Everybody, 
especially the parties, like to go to weddings. In fact, 
there is sometimes a great deal of religion in getting 
married. The Savior himself once honored a wed- 
ding feast with his presence ; and we are always safe 
in following him. But the hour has come for the 
wedding ; we will now see how they do such things 
in the woods. 

" On the third day of March, 1801, 1 was accord- 
ingly married to Hannah Strane. My father having 
bought land in what is now Highland county, I re- 
solved to move and take possession. This section of 
the country was then a dense wilderness, with only 
here and there a human habitation. My father-in-law, 
being unsatisfied with his daughter's choice, did not 
even allow her to take her clothes, so we started out. 
without any patrimony, on our simple matrimonial 
stock, to make our fortune in the woods. With the 
aid of my brother John, I built a cabin in the forest, 
my nearest neighbor being three miles off. Into this 
we moved, without horse or cow, bed -or bedding, bag 
or baggage. We gathered up the leaves and dried 



Wedding. 379 

them in the sun ; then, picking out all the sticks, we 
put them into a bed-tick. For a bedstead, we drove 
forks into the ground, and laid sticks across, over 
which we placed elm bark. On this we placed our 
bed of leaves, and had comfortable lodging. The 
next thing was to procure something to eat. Of meat 
we had an abundance, supplied by my rifle, but we 
wanted some bread. I cut and split one hundred 
rails for a bushel of potatoes, which I carried home 
on my back, a distance of six miles. At the same 
place I worked a day for a hen and three chickens, 
which I put into my hunting-shirt bosom, and carried 
home as a great prize. Our cabin was covered with 
bark, and lined and floored with the same material. 
One end of the cabin was left open for a fireplace. In 
this we lived comfortably all summer. Having no 
horse or plow, I went into a plum bottom near the 
house, and, with my axe, grubbed and cleared off an 
acre and a half, in which I dug holes with my hoe, 
and planted my corn, without any fence around it. I 
cultivated this patch as well as I could with my hoe, 
and Providence blessed my labor with a good crop, 
of over one hundred bushels. Besides, during the 
summer, with the help of my wife, I put up a neat 
cabin, and finished it for our winter's lodgings. For 
the purpose of making the cabin warm, I put my corn 
in the loft, and now, if we could not get bread, we 
had always, as a good substitute, plenty of hominy. 
"We had also plenty of bear-meat and venison, and no 
couple on earth lived happier or more contented. 



380 Wedlock vs. Padlock. 

Our Indian friends often called, and staid all night, 
and I paid them, in return, occasional visits. 

" During the season several families settled in the 
neighborhood, and, when we were together, we en- 
joyed life without gossip and those often fatal bicker- 
ings and backbitings which destroy the peace of whole 
communities. Of all people on the face of God's 
earth, I despise a gossiping tattler, whose chief busi- 
ness is to retail slander from house to house, and ruin 
the peace of families. I would rather meet a lioness 
bereft of her whelps, a bear of her cubs, a hungry 
panther, or a revengeful savage, than a human being 
in the form of a tattler, with smooth tongue and slimy 
feet. Though we had but little, our w r ants were few, 
and we enjoyed our simple and homely possessions 
with a relish the purse-proud aristocrat never enjoyed. 
A generous hospitality characterized every neighbor, 
and what we had we divided to the last with each 
other. "When any one wanted help, all were ready 
to aid." 

Here was genuine connubial love. JSTo padlock in 
this case ! Here was a helpmeet indeed ; proving 
Solomon correct when he said that a dinner of herbs, 
(or even bear's meat,) crowned with love, is better 
than a stalled ox, with hatred. Just in this way will 
a soul wedded to Christ, the husband of the church, 
forsake father and mother — JRebecca-like, cast off old 
lovers, and turn away from the old homestead, to live 



Backwoods Camp-Meeting. 381 

in a log cabin, sleep on leaves, and feed on bear-meat. 
"With the love of Christ in their hearts, they are a 
thousand times happier than a king on his throne 
without religion. 

We now turn from a backwoods wedding to a back- 
woods camp meeting, where Mr. Finley received an 
arrow in his heart, from the quiver of the Almighty, 
which resulted in his conversion. 

K In the month of August, 1801, 1 learned that there 
was to be a great meeting at Cane Ridge, in my 
fathers old congregation. Feeling a great desire to 
see the wonderful things which had come to mv ears, 
and having been solicited by some of my old school- 
mates to go over into Kentucky for the purpose of 
revisiting the scenes of my boyhood, I resolved to go. 
Obtaining company, I started from my woody retreat 
in Highland county. Having reached the neighbor- 
hood of the meeting, we stopped and put up for the 
night. The family, who seemed to be posted in regard 
to all the movements of the meeting, cheerfully an- 
swered all our inquiries, and gave us all the informa- 
tion we desired. The next morning we started for 
the meeting. On the way I said to my companions, 
'Now, if I fall, it must be by physical power and not 
by singing and praying ; 5 and as 1 prided myself 
upon my manhood and courage, I had no fear of 
being overcome by any nervous excitability, or being 
frightened into religion. We arrived upon the ground, 
and here a scene presented itself to my mind not only 



882 Backwoods C amp-Meeting* 

novel, and tin accountable, but awful beyond descrip- 
tion. A vast crowd, supposed by some to Lave 
amounted to twenty-five thousand, was collected to- 
gether, The noise Was like the roar of Niagara. The 
vast sea of human beings seemed to be agitated as if 
by a storm. I counted seven ministers, all preaching 
at one. time, some on stumps, others in wagons, and 
one — the Rev. William Burke, now of Cincinnati — t 
Was standing on a tree which had, in falling, lodged 
against another. Some of the people were singing, 
others praying, some crying for mercy in the most 
piteous accents, while others were shouting most vo- 
ciferously. While witnessing these scenes, a peculiarly 
strange sensation, such as I had never felt before, came 
over me, My heart beat tumultuously, my knees 
trembled, my lip quivered, and I felt as though I must 
fall to the ground. A strange supernatural power 
seemed to pervade the entire mass of mind there col- 
lected. I became so weak and powerless that I found 
it necessary to sit down. Soon after I left and went 
into the woods, and there I strove to rally and man 
lip my courage. I tried to philosophize in regard to 
these wonderful exhibitions, resolving them into mere 
sympathetic excitement — a kind of religious enthusi- 
asm, inspired by songs and eloquent harrangues. My 
pride was wounded, for I had supposed that my men- 
tal and physical strength and vigor could most suc- 
cessfully resist these influences. 

" After some time I returned to the scene of excite= 
ment, the waves of which, if possible, had risen still 



Backwoods Camp-Meeting. 383 

higher. The same awfulness of feeling came over me. 
I stepped up on to a log, where 1 could hare a better 
view of the surging sea of humanity. The scene that 
then presented itself to my mind was indescribable* 
At one time I saw at least five hundred swept down 
in a moment, as if a battery of a thousand guns had 
been opened upon them, and then immediately fol a 
lowed shrieks and shouts that rent the very heavens. 
My hair rose up on my head, my whole frame trem- 
bled, the blood ran cold in my veins, and I fled for 
the- woods a second time, and wished I had staid at 
home. While I remained here my feelings became 
intense and insupportable. A sense of suffocation 
and blindness seemed to come over me, and I thought 
I was going to die. There being a tavern about half 
a mile off, I concluded to go and get some brandy, 
and see if it would not strengthen my nerves. "When 
I arrived there 1 was disgusted with the sight that 
met my eyes. Here I saw about one hundred men 
engaged in drunken revelry, playing cards, trading 
horses, quarreling, and fighting. After some time I 
got to the bar, and took a dram and left, feeling that 
I was as near hell as i wished to be, either in this or 
the world to come. The brandy had no effect in 
allaying my feelings, but, if anything, made me worse. 
Kight at length came on, and I was afraid to see any 
of my companions. I cautiously avoided them, fear- 
ing lest they should discover something the matter 
with me. In this state I wandered about from place 
to place, in and around the encampment. At times 



384 Backwoods Camp-Meeting. 

it seemed as if all the sins I had ever committed in 
my life were vividly brought up in array before my 
terrified imagination, and under their awful pressure 
I felt that I must die if I did not get relief. Then it 
was that I saw clearly through the thin vail of Uni- 
versalism, and this refuge of lies was swept away by 
the spirit of God. Then fell the scales from my sin- 
blinded eyes, and I realized, in all its force and power, 
the awful truth that if I died in my sins, I was a lost 
man forever. O, how I dreaded the death of the 
soul ; for 

" There is a death wnose pang 
Outlasts the fleeting breath 
what eternal horrors hang 
Around the second death ! " 

Notwithstanding all this, my heart was so proud and 
hard that I would not have fallen to the ground for 
the whole state of Kentucky. I felt that such an 
event would have been an everlasting disgrace, and 
put a final quietus on my boasted manhood and cour- 
age. At night I went to a barn in the neighborhood, 
and creeping under the hay, spent a most dismal 
night. I resolved, in the morning, to start for home, 
for I felt that I was a ruined man. Finding one of 
the friends who came over with me, I said, s Captain, 
let us be off ; I will stay no longer.' He assented, and 
getting our horses we started for home. We said but 
little on the way, though many a deep, long-drawn 
sigh told the emotions of the heart. When we arrived 
at the Blue Lick Knobs, I broke the silence which 



Backwoods Camp-Meeting. 385 

reigned mutually between us. Like long pent-up 
waters, seeking for an avenue in the rock, the foun- 
tains of my soul were broken up, and I exclaimed, 
1 Captain, if you and I don't stop our wickedness, the 
devil will get us both.' Then came from my stream- 
ing eyes the bitter tears, and I could scarcely refrain 
from screaming aloud. This startled and alarmed my 
companion, and he commenced weeping too. Night 
approaching, we put up near Mayslick, the whole of 
which was spent by me in weeping and promising 
God, if he would spare me till morning, I would pray 
and try to mend my life and abandon my wicked 
courses. 

u As soon as day broke I went to the woods to pray, 
and no sooner had my knees touched the ground than 
1 cried aloud for mercy and salvation, and fell pros- 
trate. My cries were so Joud that they attracted the 
attention of the neighbors, many of whom gathered 
around me. Among the number was a German from 
Switzerland, who had experienced religion. He, un- 
derstanding fully my condition, had me carried to his 
house and laid on a bed. The old Dutch saint di- 
rected me to look right away to the Savior. He then 
kneeled at the bedside and prayed for my salvation 
most fervently, in Dutch and broken English. He 
then rose and sung in the same manner, and continued 
singing and praying alternately till nine o'clock, when 
suddenly my load was gone, my guilt removed, and 
presently the direct witness from heaven shone full 
upon my soul. Then there flowed such copious 
17 



386 Backwoods Camp-Meeting. 

streams of love into the hitherto waste and desolate 
places of my soul, that I thought I should die with 
excess of joy. I cried, I laughed, I shouted, and so 
strangely did I appear to all, but my Dutch brother, 
that they thought me deranged. After a time I re- 
turned to my companion, and we started on our jour- 
ney. O what a day it was to my soul ! The Sun of 
righteousness had risen upon me, and all nature 
seemed to rejoice in the brightness of its rising. The 
trees that waved their lofty heads in the forest, seemed 
to bow them in admiration and praise. The living 
stream of salvation flowed into my soul. Then did I 
realize the truth of that hymn I have so frequently 
sung : 

" I feel that heaven is now begun ; 
It issues from the sparkling throne— 

From Jesus 1 throne on high : 
It comes in floods I can't contain; 
I drink, and drink, and drink again, 

And yet am ever dry. n 



CHAPTER FORTY-SIXTH. 



1. §. Itttltl. 



Glory to God ! for Camp-meetings. Countless 
millions in the Church militant and triumphant, send 
back the shout, like the noise of many waters, glory 
to God ! for Camp-meetings. It is to us among the 
hidden mysteries, how Methodists could raise a finder 
against them. We fear they have some of the symp- 
toms manifested in the cure of a Universalist- friend 
of ours, an intelligent Justice of the Peace. Being 
an old friend, he purchased as a matter of courtesy, 
the history of our life. Meeting him again in a few 
days, he said he had read the little book through, 
and was much interested in it ; and added, that he 
kew the temporal part to be true, but of course, says 
he, you do not expect me to swallow your hell and 
damnation doctrine. He then drew down his face, 



388 Univers alist. 

assumed a dignified look, and said, Sir, there is a por- 
tion of that book that seems to me blasphemous ; you 
make camp-meetings a place resembling heaven more 
than any other place on earth ; but to me, they 
are more like Pandemonium than anything I ever 
met. Doubtless an honest confession. Like the 
dying Altamonte, heaven to him would be the sever- 
est part of hell. 

We were converted and sanctified wholly at camp- 
meeting. "Well would it have been for our Presby- 
terian brethren, if they had continued their feast of 
tabernacles. It is a good place to wash the Lord's 
sheep. We have engaged probably fifty of these 
feasts in our day, and the falling showers have taken 
out of us all the starch, as they have in the case of 
many cold professors, who have returned home plia- 
ble as lambs. It was at camp-meeting that Finley 
lost the manly strength of which he boasted before he 
went to it. But such praying and singing! What is 
the matter now ? Your knees knocking together like 
a certain ancient monarch ; shivering like an aspen ; 
your cheeks pale as marble. Why so excited ? No 
physical power has hold of him. His courage has all 
oozed out of him. There was no dodging the skilful 
archers ; and his pride was wounded. From pulpits 
made of trees fallen, the arrows were hurled thick 



Starch Taken Out. 389 

and fast in to the hearts of the King's enemies. .Five 
hundred fell as dead. The groans of the dying, and 
the shouts of the saved, mingled, and made the forest 
tremble. Here was one of God's revivals, a Pente- 
cost in the nineteenth century. What a place for 
velvet ears ! There were scarcely any to cry order. 
Nothing but such a tabernacle will bring the Metho- 
dist Church back to the old landmarks. O Lord, let 
the wind blow ; turn np whole forests by the roots ; 
thoroughly purge the threshing floor, until nothing 
but pure wheat remains. Amen ! 

We will now present an account of the fall and 
recovery of this man of God, before he would consent 
to preach the Gospel. The burden was upon him, 
but Jonah-like he took the ship to Tarshish. A 
rough voyage he had of it. Reduced to a skeleton, 
he went day after day into the woods, and told God 
that if he must preach or go to hell, then hell must 
be his portion ; but God was not so easily put off ; he 
let down his judgments upon him, until he cried out 
as he lay for weeks in a hollow log, reading his Bible, 

" Nay, but I yield, I yield." 

But we must let Bro. Finley tell his own story. 

" Thus I continued retiring, as usual, to the woods, 
and spending my time reading the Scriptures and 
Russel's Sermons, and prayer, till Thursday, which I 



390 A Pentecost. 

set apart as a day for solemn fasting, humiliation, and 
prayer. The most of the day was spent in the hollow 
log, reading the Bible and praying. In the evening I 
came home, and, after attending to some duties, went 
out again to the woods, after dark, determined, if I 
perished, to perish at the feet of mercy. I selected, as 
a place for my supplications, a large poplar tree, and 
getting on the opposite side from the wind, I scraped 
away the snow, that I might kneel there. Here I 
prayed and wrestled till about midnight, w T hen I felt 
comforted. My load of sin was gone, and the sensa- 
tions of cold which I had experienced, were also 
gone. The weather seemed pleasant and balmy as 
spring. I arose and w r ent home, filled with gratitude 
to God, for his forgiving mercy and redeeming love. 
I had not received the direct witness of the Spirit, 
that I was a child of God, but yet I knew my sins 
were pardoned. I found my wife waiting for me, 
and we retired to rest. Just at the break of day I 
awoke, and I shall never be able to tell the gratitude 
I felt to God, that I was permitted to wake out of 
hell ; and I thought I would express my feelings to 
my wife, when, to my astonishment, I found her con- 
vulsed in sorrow, and bathed in tears. 

I immediately arose for the purpose of going to 
my barn to pray. Just as I passed the corner of the 
house on my way, suddenly God poured upon me 
the Holy Spirit in such a manner, and in such a 
measure, that I fell my whole length in the snow, 
and shouted and praised God so loud, that I was 



A Jonah. 391 

heard over the neighborhood. As soon as I was able 
to rise, I returned to the house, and my wife having 
risen, I caught her in niy arms, and ran round the 
house shouting, " Salvation ! Salvation ! God has 
again blessed me with his pardoning love." Ko 
doubt many would have said, had they seen me, "this 
man is drunk or crazy." But I was not " drunk with 
wine, wherein is excess; " but I was " filled with the 
Spirit." For an hour I could do nothing but praise 
the Lord. While thus exercised, I felt as though 
some one had spoken to me, " Go preach my Gospel." 
I instantly replied, " Yes, Lord, if thou wilt go with 
me." I did not stop to confer with flesh and blood, 
but hurried out as fast as I could, to my nearest 
neighbor, and called all the family together, and told 
them all that God had done for my soul ; and to all 
within my reach that day, I proclaimed a risen Savior, 
who had power on earth to forgive sins." 

Proud skeptic, do you not see the man, who yester- 
day was so reduced by grief and sorrow, that a grass- 
hopper would have been a burden, now skipping like 
a lamb on Lebanon. Several times round his cabin 
he runs, with his wife in his arms, shouting all the 
while. She was no more than a wax doll. He could 
with his wife in his arms leap over a wall. Happy 
were they on the day they we're married ; but a thou-* 
sand times happier now. How silly it seems to some. 
How strange to see a man of education and refine- 



392 Fall and Eecoveey. 

ment acting so wildly. God have mercy on the 
proud ones, who are ever deriding the child-like dis- 
position and conduct of God's children. O, that 
such might be converted, and be able to sing, 

" Perhaps you think me wild, 
Or simple as a child ; 

I am a child of glory. 
I am born from above, 
My soul is full of love, 

I long to tell the stocy." 



CHAPTER FORTY-SEVENTH. 



We give the history of one more Camp-meeting, as 
a sort of cap-stone to our noisy book : 

" The great general camp meeting was held at Cane 
Ridge meeting-house. This house was built for my 
fattier, and here was my old home. I have elsewhere 
described this meeting, or attempted to do so. Lan- 
guage is utterly impuissant to convey anything like 
an adequate idea of the sublimity and grandeur of 
the scene. Twenty thousand persons tossed to and 
fro, like th'e tumultuous waves of the sea in a storm, 
or swept down like the trees of the forest under the 
blast of the wild tornado, was a sight which mine 
own eyes witnessed, but which neither my pen nor 
tongue can describe. 

"During the religious exercises within the encamp- 
ment, all manner of wickedness was going on without. 
So deep and awful is man's depravity, that he will 
sport while the very fires of perdition are kindling 



394: A Camp-Meeting. 

around him. Men, furious with the effects of the 
maddening bowl, would outrage all decency by their 
conduct ; and some, mounted on horses, would ride 
at full speed among the people. I saw one, who 
seemed to be a leader and champion of the party, on 
a large, white horse, ride furiously into the praying 
circle, uttering the most horrid imprecations. Sud- 
denly, as if smitten by lightning, he fell from his 
horse. At this a shout went up from the religious 
multitude, as if Lucifer himself had fallen. I trem- 
bled, for I feared God had killed the bold and daring 
blasphemer. He exhibited no signs whatever of life ; 
his limbs were rigid, his wrists pulseless, and his 
breath gone. Several of his comrades came to see 
him, but they did not gaze long till the power of God 
came upon them, and they fell like men slain in battle. 
I was much alarmed, but I had a great desire to see 
the issue. I watched him closely, while for thirty 
hours he lay, to all human appearance, dead. During 
this time the people kept up singing and praying. 
At last he exhibited signs of life, but they were fear- 
ful spasms, which seemed as if he were in a convul- 
sive fit, attended by frightful groans, as if he were 
passing through the intensest agony. It was not long, 
however, till his convulsions ceased, and springing to 
his feet, his groans were converted into loud and 
joyous shouts of praise. The dark, fiend-like scowl 
which overspread his features, gave way to a happy 
smile, which lighted up his countenance. 

"A certain Dr. P., accompanied by a lady from 



Peculiarities of the Work. 305 

Lexington, was induced, out of mere curiosity, to 
attend the meeting. As they had heard much about 
the involuntary jerkings and fallings which attended 
the exercises, they entered into an agreement between 
themselves that, should either of them be thus 
strangely attacked or fall, the other was to stand by 
to the last. It was not long till the lady was brought 
down in all her pride, a poor sinner in the dust, before 
her God. The Doctor, agitated, came up and felt for 
her pulse ; but, alas ! her pulse was gone. At this he 
turned pale, and, staggering a few paces, he fell be- 
neath the power of the same invisible hand. After 
remaining for some time in this state, they both ob- 
tained pardon and peace, and went rejoicing home. 
They both lived and died happy Christians. Thous- 
ands were affected in the same way. 

"These camp meetings continued for some time, 
the Presbyterians and Methodists uniting together as 
one in the army of the Lord. Some ministers had 
serious doubts concerning the character of the work ; 
but its genuineness was demonstrated by the fruits. 
Men of the most depraved hearts and vicious habits 
were made new creatures, and a whole life of virtue 
subsequently confirmed the conversion. To all but 
Methodists the work was entirely strange. Some of 
the peculiarities had been witnessed before by the 
preachers, and they were enabled to carry it on. 

" These meetings exhibited nothing to the spectator 
unacquainted with them but a scene of confusion, 
such as scarcely could be put into human language. 



396 Interesting Incidents. 

They were generally opened with a sermon or exhorta- 
tion, at the close of which there would be a universal 
cry for mercy, some bursting forth in loud ejaculations 
of prayer or thanksgiving for the truth ; some break- 
ing forth in strong and powerful exhortations, others 
flying to their careless friends with tears of compas- 
sion, entreating them to fly to Christ for mercy; some, 
struck with terror and conviction, hastening through 
the crowd to escape, or pulling away from their rela- 
tions ; others trembling, weeping, crying for mercy ; 
some falling and swooning away, till every appear- 
ance of life was gone, and the extremities of the body 
assumed the coldness of death. These were sur- 
rounded with a company of the pious, singing melo- 
dious songs adapted to the time, and praying for their 
conversion. But there were others collected in cir- 
cles round this variegated scene, contending for and 
against the work. 

" Many circumstances transpired that are worthy 
of note in reference to this work. Children were 
often made the instruments through which the Lord 
wrought. At one of these powerful displays of 
Divine power, a boy about ten years old broke from 
the stand in time of preaching under very strong im- 
pressions, and having mounted a log at some distance, 
and raising his voice in a most affecting manner, cried 
out, 'On the last day of the feast Jesus stood and 
cried, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and 
drink.' He attracted the main body of the congrega- 
tion, and, with streaming eyes, he warned the sinners 






The Child Pjreacheb. 397 

of their danger, denouncing their doom, if they per- 
severed in sin, and strongly expressed his love for the 
salvation of their souls, and the desire that they would 
turn to God and live. By this time the press was so 
great that he was taken up by two men and held 
above the crowd. He spoke for near an hour with 
that convincing eloquence that could be inspired only 
from heaven; and when exhausted, and language 
failed to describe the feelings of his soul, he raised 
his handkerchief, and dropping it, cried, 'Thus, O 
sinner, will you drop into hell, unless you forsake 
your sins and turn to God.' At this moment the 
power of God fell upon the assembly, and sinners fell 
as men slain in mighty battle, and the cries for mefcy 
seemed as though they would rend the heavens, and 
the work spread in a manner which human language 
can not describe. 

" We will now try to give something in reference to 
the manner and the exercise of mind of these who 
were the subjects of this work. Immediately before 
they became totally powerless, they w r ere sometimes 
seized with a general tremor, and often uttered seve- 
ral piercing shrieks in the moment of falling. Men 
and Avomen never fell when under this jerking exer- 
cise till they became exhausted. Some w T ere unable 
to stand, and yet had the use of their hands and 
could converse with companions. Others were unable 
to speak. The pulse became w T eak, and they drew a 
difficult breath about once a minute. In many in- 
stances they became cold. Breathing, pulsation, and. 



398 Sinnees Steicken Down. 

all signs of life, forsook .them for hours ; yet I never 
heard of one who died in this condition, and I have 
conversed with persons who have laid in this situation 
for many hours, and they have uniformly testified that 
they had no bodily pain, and that they had the entire 
use of their reason and powers of mind. From this 
it appears that their falling w T as neither common 
fainting nor a nervous affection. Indeed, this strange 
work appears to have taken every possible turn to 
baffle the conjectures and philosophizing of those who 
were unwilling to acknowledge it was the work of 
God. Persons have fallen on their way home from 
meeting, some after they had arrived at home, others 
pursuing their common business on their farms, and 
others when they were attending to family or secret 
devotions. Numbers of thoughtless, careless sinners, 
have fallen as suddenly as if struck by lightning. 
Professed infidels, and other vicious characters, have 
been arrested, and sometimes at the very moment 
when they were uttering their blasphemies against 
God and the work, and have, like Saul, declared that 
to be God's work which they so vehemently persecuted. 
"I trust I have said enough on this subject to 
enable my readers to judge how far the charge of 
enthusiasm and delusion is applicable to this work, 
nnequaled for power and for the entire change of the 
hearts and lives of so many thousands of men and 
women. Lord Lyttleton, in his letter on the conver- 
sion of St. Paul, observes, and I think justly, that 
enthusiasm is a vain, self-righteous spirit, swelled with 



Results of the Work. 399 

self-sufficiency and disposed to glory in its religious 
attainments. If this be a good definition, there was 
as little enthusiasm in this work as any other. Never 
were there more genuine marks of that humility 
which disclaims the merits of its own works, and 
looks to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way of ac- 
ceptance with God. Christ was all and in all in their 
exercises and religion, and their Gospel, and all be- 
lievers in their highest attainments seemed most 
sensible of their entire dependence upon Divine 
grace ; and it was truly affecting to hear with what 
anxiety awakened sinners inquired for Christ as the 
only Physician who could give them help. Those 
who call this enthusiasm ought to tell us what they 
understand by the spirit of Christianity. Upon the 
whole, this revival in the west was the most extraor- 
dinary that ever visited the Church of Christ, and 
was peculiarly adapted to the circumstances of the 
country. Infidelity was triumphant, and religion at 
the point of expiring. Something of an extraordi- 
nary nature was necessary to arrest the attention of a 
wicked and sceptical people, who were ready to con- 
clude that Christianity was a fable and futurity a 
dream. This great work of God did do it. It con- 
founded infidel it. v and vice into silence, and brought 
numbers beyond calculation under the influence of 
experimental religion and practical piety." 

The question, how many turned away from that 
camp- meeting,' Naman-like, in a rage ? — how many 



400 Blundering Tactics. 

proud Pharisees went home muttering " disorder and 
confusion?" — the day of doom alone can answer. 
Often have we been sickened by wise, prudent pre- 
siding elders, who manifest much more care for order, 
and to have it said that all passed off quietly and 
genteelly, than for the salvation of souls. They forget 
that the mountain is covered with horses and chariots 
to defend the sacramental- hosts. They will draft one 
hundred men, the strength of the spiritual army, and 
send one half to scour the roads and drive sinners 
from the net ; and the other half is kept on the 
ground, to keep the brethren and sisters from praying 
too loud, and to shut down every gate and close every 
door at the sound of the horn. Ko matter if fifty 
persons were balanced between the two kingdoms, 
things must be abruptly stopped, and the risk run of 
their falling back into the tempter's power. Before 
we were converted, we were staggered when we heard 
persons split their throats in proclaiming the value of 
a soul, and appear unwilling to forego their beefsteak, 
and Java, and ease, for the labors of the prayer meet- 
ing ; and since our conversion, we have been ashamed 
of our own indifference in such important cases. God 
help us practice what we preach. More than once 
have we had the cold water spouts turned upon us by 
some presiding elder or preacher, when the sea of our 



Cattaraugus Jesting. 401 

soul has been agitated, or. that of some weak brother 
or sister, and the sacred flame quenched. They would 
seem distressed, and say, '* Order and solemnity,' 5 or, 
" Brethren, pray." All in order to pray, except for 
those filled with joy. St. James says, If any are 
afflicted, let them pray ; and he also says, If any are 
merry, let them sing psalms. If any minister or lay- 
man is afflicted, because some of the children are 
happy and shout Hosannah, he ought to be prostrate 
at the mourner's bench, and pray until Christ has 
healed his soul. The order of God, not that of man, 
should be sought and followed. Then would the 
spirit of old fashioned revivals return. 

"We must confess a little mental conflict just here, 
in determining whether we should strike out some of 
the above or not. "We may be considered a little 
rebellious — not obedient to the ordained powers. 
But we love the order of God. We love Cesar; but 
we love Eome more. The last camp-meeting we at- 
tended was at Cattaraugus. The presiding elder 
buried his horn, pulled down the bars, and let the 
Spirit and the brethren have free course. The Gospel 
run, and God was glorified. There were more sin- 
ners converted, and sonls sanctified, from ten at night 
until daylight in the morning, than during all the rest 
of the meeting. Suppose some brother or sister gets 



402 Colonization. 

a nervous headache in consequence of a restless night? 
To balance that, God may give a converted husband, 
or wife, or child. "What are a few hours headache to 
everlasting burnings ? 

The great wonder in heaven will be, that Christ 
ever colonized the heavenly country from such a 
world of iniquity as this. Kowdies, by grace, made 
shining saints ! Millions in heaven will date their 
conversion at some of the rough-and-tumble pitched 
battles with the Devil, at the midnight hour, when he 
with his obedient followers attempted to break up the 
camp. How frequently he loses his best troops in 
some of these encounters. Many an arrow sent at a 
venture, has pierced the joints of the harness, and like 
Ahab, the wounded have been drawn by the chariot 
wheels of free grace to the mercy seat, and have been 
saved. Any camp-meeting that does not disturb the 
Devil, and win souls to Christ, is not conducted in 
God's order. 

Good bye, Finley, until we meet in a land where 
shines an eternal day. 



CHAPTEE FOKTY-EIGHTH. 



%\t Wu tf'S\imim%. 



What is the use of shouting ? Says one, there is 
no religion in a noise. Then Zachariah was mistaken. 
He said, they shall drink and make a noise as through 
wine. Here we have cause and effect. Wine makes 
men noisy and tremulous if drank freely. So the 
saints, when filled with the Spirit. But what is the 
use of shouting ? The walls of Jericho would per- 
haps have been standing now, had not the saints shout- 
ed, as God commanded. The three thousand might 
never have been converted had they not been called 
together on the day of Pentecost, by the shouts of the 
victors. 

A poor man once by his wisdom saved a city from 
perishing with hunger. His wisdom was not immor- 
talized in newspaper puffs, or flaming eulogies, for lie 
was a poor num. The city was besieged so closely 



404 ' A Stratagem. — Old Moses. 

that it was death to appear outside the walls. Every- 
thing within was devoured but one bullock ; while 
without were hundreds of fat cattle, quietly grazing. 
In the extremity, the poor but wise man received per- 
mission to use a stratagem to procure food. lie con- 
structed a windlass which would hoist the bullock 
several feet above the wall in a moment. Every time 
this was done the bullock would bellow with all his 
might. This drew all the cattle of the enemy to the 
gate ; and all that had to be done was to open the 
gate, into which the cattle eagerly pressed. All were 
soon supplied. This was only for the body ; but it 
shows the use of a noise. 

We are now about to tell you a story of a poor slave, 
who, by his noise, was the means of saving his mas- 
ter and household, and perhaps many others. This 
old gospel leaven is a wonderful thing to spread, when 
it once gets kneaded in. It has so much power that 
it will raise a man up like the bullock, and make him 
bellow so as to disturb a whole neighborhood, and 
draw sinners to the gates of Zion. 

But now the story: 

OLD MOSES. 

Mr. B. was a merchant in Baltimore, and did a very 
heavy business, especially in grain. One morning, as 
he was passing over the vessels that lay at the wharf, 



Old Mcses. 405 

with their various commodities for sale, he stepped 
over the deck of one, at the stern of which he saw a 
negro man sitting, whose dejected countenance gave 
sure indications of distress ; and he accosted him 
with — 

" He j, man, what is the matter with you this mor- 
ning?" 

" Ah, massa, I'se in great trouble." 

"What about?" 

" Kase I'se fotched to be sold." 

" What for ? What have you been doing ? Have 
you been stealing, or did you run away, or what?" 

"No, no, massa, none o'dat; It's because I did'nt 
mind the audes." 

"What kind of orders?" 

" Well, massa stranger, I tell you. Massa Willum 
werry strict man, and werry nice man too, and ebery 
body on the place got to mine him, and I break tiew 
cle rule ; but I didn't tend to break trew de rule, doe ; 
I forgot myself, and I got too high." 

" It's for getting drunk, then, is it ?" 

" O, no, sah, not dat nother." 

" You are the strangest negro I have seen in a week. 
I can get no satisfaction from you. If you would not 
like to be pitched overboard, you had better tell me 
what you did." 

" Please massa, don't frow de poor fiicted nigger in 
de wata." 

" Then tell me what you are to be sold for." 

" For prayin, sah.' > 



406 Old Moses. 

"For praying! that is a strange tale indeed. Will 
your master not permit you to pray ?" 

" O, yes sah, he let me pray easy, but I hollers too 
loud." ' 

" And why do you hallow so loud in your prayer V* 

"Kase de spirit comes on me, and I gets happy fore 
I knows it ; den I gone ; can't trol merself den ; den 
I knows nuthin bout massa's rule ; den I holler if ole 
Sattin hissef come with all the rules of the quisition." 

" And do you suppose your master will really sell 
you for that ?" 

" O yes, no help for me now ; kase when massa 
Willium say one thing, he no do anoder." 

" What is your name ?" 

"Moses, sah." 

"What is your master's name ?" 

" Massa name Colonel Willuni C * 

" Where does he live?" 

" Down on Easin Shoah." 

" Is he a good master ? Does he treat you well ?" 

" O yes, massa Willuni good ; no better massa in 
de world." 

" Stand up and let me look at you." And Moses 
stood up and presented a robust frame ; and Mr. B. 
stripped up his sleeve, his arm gave evidence of unu- 
sual muscular strength. 

" Where is your master ?" 

"Yonder he is, jist coming to the wharf." 

As Mr. B. started for the shore he heard Moses give 
a heavy sigh, followed by a deep groan. Moses was 



Old Moses. 407 

not at all pleased with the present phase of affairs. 
He was strongly impressed with the idea that B. was 
a trader and intended to buy him, and it was this that 
made him so unwilling to communicate to Mr. B. the 
desired information. Mr. B. reached the wharf just 
as Col. C. did. He introduced himself and said : 

" I understand you wish to sell that negro man yon- 
der on board the schooner." 

Col. C. replied that he did. 

"What do you ask for him?" 

" I expect to get seven hundred dollars." 

"How old is he?" 

" About thirty." 

"Is he healthy?" 

" Yery, he never had any sickness in his life except 
one or two spells of ague." 

" Is he hearty ?" 

" Yes sir, he will eat as much as any man ought, 
and it will do him as much good." 

" Is he a good hand ?" 

" Yes sir ; he is the best hand on my place. He is 
steady, honest and industrious. He has been my fore- 
man for the last ten years, and a more trusty negro I 
never knew." 

" Why do you wish to sell him V* 

" Because he disobeys my orders. As I said, he is 
my foreman ; and that he might be available at any 
time I might want him, I built his quarter within a 
hundred yards of my own house, and I have never 
rung the bell at any time in the night or morning, 
that his horn did not answer in five minutes after. 



408 Old Moses. 

But two years ago he got religion and commenced 
what he terms family prayer — that is, prayer in his 
quarter every night and morning; and when he be- 
gun his prayer, it was impossible to tell when it would 
stop, especially if (as he termed it) he got happy. 
Then he wonld sing and pray and halloo for an hour or 
two together, that you might hear him a mile off. 
And he would pray for me and my wife and children, 
and all my brothers and sisters and their children, and 
our whole family connection to the third generation ; 
and sometimes, when we would have visitors, Moses' 
prayers would interrupt the conversation and destroy 
the enjoyment of the whole company. The women 
would cry, and the children would cry, and it would 
send me almost frantic; and even after I had retired, 
it would sometimes be nearly daylight before I could 
go to sleep ; for it appeared to me that I could hear 
Moses pray for three hours after he had finished. I 
bore it as long as I could, and then forbid him pray- 
ing so loud any more. Moses promised obedience, 
but he soon transgressed; and my rule is never to. 
whip, but whenever a negro proves incorrigible, I sell 
him. This keeps them in better subjection and is less 
trouble than whipping. I pardoned Moses twice for 
praying so loud, but the third time I knew I must sell 
him, or every negro on the farm would soon be per- 
fectly regardless of all my orders." 

" You spoke of Moses' quarters ; I suppose from that 
he has a family." 

" Yes, he has a woman and three children — or wifr^ 
I suppose he calls her now, for soon after he got relig- 



Old Moses. 409 

ion he asked me if they might get married, and I pre- 
sume they were." 

" What will you take for her and the three chil- 
dren?" 

"If you want them for your own use, I will take 
seven hundred dollars ; but I shall not sell Moses for 
them to go out of the State." 

"I wish them all for my own use, and I will give 
you the fourteen hundred dollars." 

Mr. K. and Col. 0. then went to B's store, drew up 
the writing, and closed the sale, after which they re- 
turned to the vessel ; and Mr. B, approaching the ne- 
gro, who sat with his eyes fixed upon the deck, seem- 
ingly wrapped in meditation of the most awful fore- 
bodings, said : 

" Well Moses, I have bought you." 

Moses made a very low bow, and every muscle of 
his face worked with emotion as he replied — 

" Is you, massa ? Where is I gwine, massa ? Is I 
gwine to Georgy ?" 

" No," said Mr. B. "I am a merchant in the city 
here, and yonder is my store, and I have purchased 
your wife and children too, that you may not be sep- 
arated." 

" Bress God for dat ! And kin I go to meeting 
sometimes ?" 

" Yes, Moses, you can go to church three times on 

the Sabbath, and every night in the week ; and you 

can pray as often as you choose, and get as happy as 

you choose ; and every time you pray, whether it be 

at home or at church, I want you to pray for me, my 
18 



410 Old Moses. 

wife, and all my children, and single-handed too ; for 
if you are a good man, your prayers will do us no 
harm, and we need them very much ; and if you wish 
to, you may pray for everybody of the name of B. in 
the State of Maryland. It will not injure them." 

While Mr. B. was dealing out these privileges to 
Moses, the negro's eyes danced in their sockets, and 
his full heart laughed right out with gladness, expos- 
ing two rows of as even, clean ivories as any African 
can boast, and his hearty response was, 

"Bress God, bress God all time, and bress you too, 
massa, Moses neber tink bout he gwine to have all 
dese commodations ; it makes me tink bout Joseph 
in de Egypt." 

And after Moses had poured a few blessings on Col. 
C, bidding him a warm adieu, and requesting him to 
give his love and farewell to his mistress, the children 
and all the servants, he followed B„ to the store, to en- 
ter on the functions of his office. 

The return of the schooner brought to Moses his 
wife and children. 

Early the next spring, . as Mr. B. was standing at 
tlie store door, he saw a man leap upon the wharf from 
the deck of a vessel and walk hurriedly towards the 
store. He soon recognised him as Col. C. They ex- 
changed salutations, and to the Colonel's inquiry af- 
ter Moses, Mr. B. replied that he was up stairs meas- 
uring grain, and invited him to walk up and see him. 
Soon Mr. B's attention was arrested by a very confus* 
ed noise above. He listened, and he heard an unttsu* 
al shuffling of feet, gome on© sobbing violently, and 



Old Moses. 411 

some one talking very hurriedly ; and when he reflect* 
ed on Col. C's singular movements and the peculiar 
expression of his countenance, he became alarmed, 
and determined to go up and see what was transpir- 
ing. 

When he reached the head of the stairs he was 
startled by seeing Moses in the middle of the floor 
down upon his knees, with his arms around the Col- 
onel's waist, and weeping audibly. As soon as the 
Colonel could sufficiently control his feelings, he told 
Mr. B. that he had never been able to free himself 
from the influence of Moses' prayers, and that during 
the past year he and his wife, and all the children had 
been converted to God. 

Moses responded, " Bress God, massa C, do I way 
up hea, I neber forgit you in my prayers— I always 
put de old massa side the new one. Bress God, dis 
make Moses think about Joseph in the Egypt again." 

The Colonel then stated to Mr. B. that his object in 
coming to Baltimore was to buy Moses and his fami- 
ly back again. But Mr. B. assured him that it wa3 
out of the question, for he could not part With him ; 
and he intended to manumit Moses and his wife at 
forty, and his children at thirty-five years of age. 

Moses was not far wrong in his reference to Joseph. 
For when Joseph was sold in Egypt, God overruled 
to his good, and he obtained blessings that were far 
beyond his expectations ; so with Moses. Moses event- 
ually proved the instrument of saving the man's soul 
who sold him. 



412 



Old Moses. 



Old Moses is still living and doing well. He long 
since obtained his freedom, and at present occupies a 
comfortable house of his own ; and I suppose sings 
and prays, and prays and shouts to his heart's content. 






CHAPTER FORTr-NINTH. 



f pr €\m% Sjpm 



If every true convert would stand up as straight for 
Jesus as Moses did, the hallowed flame would rise so 
high that all the fire engines of modern invention could 
not quench it. His prayers and words would be so 
clothed with authority, that they would disturb the 
midnight slumbers of even a slaveholder, and break 
the proud hearts of his wife and children. May the 
Lord multiply such shouters. 

The last two years of our own life has been some- 
what peculiar ; and, as is the custom of Methodists, 
we will weave in a little of our own experience. A 
few years ago there was a little band of brethren which 
had swarmed from the First M. E. Church in Syra- 
cuse, and formed what was at first called the mission 
church, and afterwards the Third Church. They did 
not differ with their brethren on doctrinal points ; only 



414: Peculiarities. — Persecution. 

on what are termed peculiarities. The bees that 
swarmed were noisy. Incessantly they praised God. 
They sing, shout, scream, and leap for joy ; in all 
things they follow the Spirit and endeavor to be sub- 
missive. Unwisely, we think, the Bishop sent a man 
to them diametrically opposed to their manner of wor- 
ship, as, perhaps, many good preachers are. The 
result was as follows : The little craft being under full 
headway could not be snubbed, or strapped down to 
the preacher's iron bedstead ; it kept in the middle of 
the stream, and kept on a fall head of steam ; like 
Sampson, it broke every green withe or new rope, 
and maintained its freedom. The minister and the 
little flock agreed to separate ; he went to a more con- 
genial field, and they went on in their course. This 
squall proved them to be on solid rock, with the king- 
dom just before them ; their zeal remained unquench- 
ed and their shouts of victory went up as usual. The 
flame of persecution waxed hot and blazed high ; yet 
the bush was unconsumed. The vilest epithets were 
heaped upon them, their peculiarities were magnified, 
and rendered so odious by misrepresentation, that, by 
brethren in distant neighborhoods, they were looked 
upon as wild cats rather than as Christians. 

The Bishop and his cabinet neglected to send them 
a preacher. Just at this point the Gospel door open- 



Endorsed by Bishops. 415 

ed on its golden hinges to the poor blind man, who had 
no reputation or salary to jeopardize. We shall want 
an eternity to thank God for the privilege of preaching 
the unsearchable riches of Christ two years and a half, 
with our colleague, Bro. Davis, a local preacher, who 
lived ten miles from Syracuse, and was a Holy Ghost 
man, who sung and shouted, preached and exhorted " 
with us in the fear of God, until the fires of persecu- 
tion burned down to embers. 

Subsequently the officers of the church, together 
with their accusers, had an audience before Bishops 
Janes, Ames and Baker. As the accusers made known 
their grievances, Bishop Ames would say, — Amen ! 
brethren, this is the old way. When I was a circuit 
preacher, we used to dismiss the congregation for 
those who wished to retire as soon as preaching was 
over, then we would remain to sing and pray if any 
soul wanted salvation. It was like Balak sending for 
Balaam to curse Israel. Instead of cursing them he 
blessed them. The Bishops decided that they had 
been persecuted ; and, without a single reproof, sent 
them Eev. Bro. David Stone, a man like Moses in 
meekness, and like John in love. Never did preach* 
er and people dwell more harmoniously together. 

But the reader will ask for specifications. What 
were their peculiarities? None that differed materi* 



4:16 DlSTUKBED PEOPLE. 

ally from those that appeared in the days of Wesley, 
Abbott, Evans, Edwards, Cartwright, and Finley. We 
note only this difference. The peculiarities of the 
Third Church were nothing in comparison to those we 
have recorded. One complaint against them was that 
they disturbed the people for several blocks around 
by their groans, prayers and loud shouts of praise. No 
wonder that infidels and Pharisees were disturbed. 
If they had been slaves, like Moses, no doubt they 
would have been sold up Red river, or somewhere 
else. But Jesus had made them free, body and soul ; 
and they were determined to use their freedom. 
Many a soul doubtless this day, like Col. Williams, 
the master of Old Moses, thanks God that their slum- 
bers were ever broken by this noisy crew. 

One thing there was, rather uncommon for whirl- 
wind revivals. After a warm sermon, when the saints 
would rise to testify, two or three sisters, some belong- 
ing to other churches, persons noted- for retiring mod- 
esty and genuine piety, would be pressed to move 
from their seats, and leap up and down the aisles ; 
and were impressed to lay their hands on the heads of 
the brethren and sisters, declaring that they saw a 
peculiar light resting over the heads of some ; and 
now we can declare that whenever their hands touched 
our head unearthly joy thrilled soul and body. Those 



Healing Faith. 417 

who saw them said they would leap with almost the 
fleetness of an angel. At snch times a solemn awe 
would rest on the whole congregation, numbering, 
perhaps, four hundred, and all would feel that they 
were in the house of God. All these things occurred 
during the hottest persecutions. 

Another offence urged against the brethren was, 
that when they were sick they would refuse to take 
medicines, or call a doctor, but would take their case 
to the Lord, and afterwards testify in open court that 
Jesus had healed their bodies. Not many months 
ago Bro. Timothy Stearns, a prominent member, 
whose piety we never heard doubted, had a malignant 
spider cancer on his jaw — so called by eminent phy- 
sicians. He refused the use of any application what- 
ever. He carried it to the Lord ; and in a lew weeks 
it disappeared. We confess our own faith has not 
been elevated to that point ; that of others has ; but 
sometimes, like Paul we have been shut up unto it. 

We will relate a little personal matter. At the last 
Bergen Camp Meeting, as we awoke in the morning, 
our throat seemed skinned down to the vitals. It was 
Friday morning. This was our. day of fasting, always 
a day of peculiar solemnity. The devil said we had 
preached our last sermon, our throat was destroyed. 
O, what a mountain of gloom rested upon our soul. 



418 Healing Faith. 

We took our little guide and went into the woods and 
laid our case before the Lord. The idea that we should 
never preach to the poor gave us great sorrow. But 
as Paul was told to go to the old tanner, we were di- 
rected to Bro. B. T. Roberts' tent, in which there were 
some of the Third Church brethren, who possessed the 
healing faith. When we arrived they were at prayer. 
We knelt down in front of the tent, and wept like a 
little child. We could scarcely speak above a whis- 
per. We then referred the Lord to the fourteen years 
we had been trying to feed his sheep at different poor 
houses ; how many there were of his own dear chil- 
dren bereft of gospel privileges. About this time the 
brethren had learned our case, and in a moment our 
throat was healed, and we could sing, shout, or pray, 
as the Spirit moved. We were then requested to lead 
the class, which numbered about one hundred. We 
led one half, and then requested Bro. B. I. Ives to 
lead the other half. Soon after he began, a water spout 
of grace broke upon our heads, and we fell under Its 
power. Amen ! Halleluiah ! Still we confess with 
shame, our healing faith is still weak. 

But we must hasten on. We want no easier place 
to preach, than the humble, no-steepled, free-pewed 
Church at Syracuse ; although it has now become pop- 



Power in the Pulpit. 419 

ular with those who were its opposers, and now they 
can sing and shont as well as its worshippers. 

To the glory of free grace we want to relate some 
strange things that have happened tons in seasons of 
refreshing and power. We have often rose and took 
our text as calm as a May morning, but before we 
could advance a step with it, it would become a lad- 
der, setting at our feet and reaching the heavens, un- 
til by realizing faith we could behold unspeakable 
wonders, and feel the power sweetly going through 
wery nerve of our body. Our power of articulation 
vvould be taken away, our teeth would begin to chatter 
and when the glory arrived at a certain pitch, as quick 
as lightning we would be brought to stand on tip-toe, 
our arms extended over our head at their full length, 
become nearly as stiff as a corpse, and fall our full 
length in the pulpit. All this time we would be con- 
scious of what was going on. In this state we would be 
kept from three to five minutes ; then our body would 
relax into its ordinary state. There was not so much 
joy during this state as afterward when the tide from 
the ocean would flow in, and overflow the banks of 
our soul with Divine love. If ever we were qualified 
to preach, it was at such times. We wanted no fools- 
cap to turn over in the desk. We could seemingly 
lay our naked hand on the bare arm of God. We 



420 Power in the Pulpit. 

were like a child in its mother's pantry, the shelves of 
which were loaded with every luxury. We could lay 
hold on the gospel provisions, and press them to the lips 
of lovers of Christ. The Devil was here baffled. Some- 
times he would accuse us of excitement; but when 
the heavens opened he would return to his own place. 
But we have something better than any outward dem- 
onstration. It is a white stone, with a new name en- 
graven upon it, that none can be familiar with except 
the giver and receiver. 

But we must shut down the gate. We must pass 
to our concluding chapter. So farewell my loving 
brethren of the Third M. E. Church, whom not hav- 
ing seen, yet we fervently love. 



CHAPTER FIFTIETH. 



fast StkM 



Dear reader, in this chapter we are to give you the 
parting hand. You have been by oar side all through 
our journey. Many glorious scenes have we witness- 
ed. We were together as we listened to the singing 
of the stars; together we waded in the river of Eze- 
kiel's vision ; and we traveled together as we followed 
the hosts of Israel from Egypt to the land of promise. 
You saw many things that offended you. But the day 
of Pentecost opened your eyes ; and with us you have 
with delight waded the stream as it has increased in 
breadth and depth, down to the times of Wesley, Ev- 
ans, and their compeers. We have seen whirlwind 
power, uprooting vast forests, in Europe and Amer- 
ica. It appears that when the Spirit has free course, 
its outward demonstrations are the same in all ages, 
and among all denominations. We have had a good 



422 Retrospect — Noisiest of all. 

time with our pioneer brethren, Cartwright and Fin- 
ley ; and last, but not least among the thousands of 
Israel, the little flock at Syracuse. 

We are now to notice the last revival we are sure 
will occur on earth. We shall all be there. Howev- 
er indifferent and fault-finding persons are now, they 
will be interested then. Those wh#se occupation it 
has been to find and point out blemishes, will then 
have their mouths stopped. They will have all the 
business they can attend to of their own. Once Pi- 
late brought Jesus to his bar, but then the scene will 
be reversed ; Christ will be judge, and Pilate the crim- 
inal. A noisy time it will be. Earth has never wit- 
nessed such groanings, and shoutings as will then be 
heard. It was a noisy time when the foundation of 
the second temple was laid. The mingled noise 
of shouting and weeping was heard afar off But 
when the spiritual temple, made of regenerated souls, 
is completed, the cap-stone will be brought forth with 
such shoutings as we have never heard. There was 
great noise when Ezekiel began to prophesy to the 
bleached bones, and bone came to bone, each occu- 
pying its proper position ; but when the notable day 
of which we are speaking comes, the heavens will be 
dressed in black, and the universe will be filled with 
the thundering of the crash of worlds, the cries of 



Difference. 423 

terrified sinners, and above all the shouts of the re- 
deemed. 

The revival of which we speak, if revival it may 
be called, differs from those of time. No mourner's 
bench presented ! It will be said, " He that is holy, 
let him be holy still, and he that is filthy, let him be 
filthy still." No wash tubs or gospel pools there, in 
which the bride may prepare her robes for the nuptial 
festivities. There will be no oil for the dead formal- 
ist. There will be a sudden trumpet-blast, and a per- 
emptory call. There will be no faithful preacher or 
pious mother to weep over the sinner, and lead him 
to the mercy seat. The day of such privileges will 
have passed. Sinner, you will not say, " If my young- 
companions will go with me I will go." No ! All 
that are in the grave will hear ' his voice and come 
forth ; they that have clone evil to the resurrection of 
damnation, they that have done good to the resurrec- 
tion of life. The wicked have but one resurrection. 
Annanias and Sapphira were partners in guilt, and 
shared the same fate ; so the body and the soul of the 
wicked share the pains of hell. True believers have 
two resurrections. Tbeir souls are brought to life 
while on earth — the first resurrection ; then at the sec- 
ond resurrection the body is raised and the soul again 
united with it to live forever in a glorious heaven. 



424 A Word to Fault-finders. 

You who have cried, " too much noise, confusion," 
as the saints have blowed the ram's horn around jour 
spiritual Jericho, what will you say when the Arch- 
Angel shall take the trump from the hands of him 
that sits on the throne, stand with one foot on the sea 
and the other on dry land, and say that time shall be 
no longer? when with one shrill blast the slumbering 
millions are startled, and land and sea are made to 
give up their dead ? when the righteous shall rise with 
glorified bodies, to meet in the air the royal Bride- 
groom with the flower of his court, who is to intro- 
duce the Bride to the Father, as Isaac introduced Re- 
becca to his father Abraham? In this revival the 
Lord shall descend himself with a shout; and we may 
be assured responsive shouts will be heard from myr- 
iads of celestial beings. And then the saints shout 
louder than ever on earth. Body and soul, compan- 
ions in life's toils, pains, conflicts, and victories, after 
a long separation will be reunited, and together enter 
a royal mansion. ISTow they look back on vacant 
graves, and realize the saying, " Death is swallowed 
up in victory ;" and Oh, how they shout, " O, grave 
where is thy victory ?" 

Behold he cometh in clouds, as with armies. Eve- 
ry eye shall see him. O, what a glorious sight for 
your humble blind author. And the saints, as they 



Behold he Cometh. 425 

behold him, shall rise. Many envy Elijah, and his 
chariot of fire ; but here all saints have an ascension 
that even Elijah might court. Unnumbered millions 
will exclaim as they ascend, " Thanks be unto God 
who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
Christ." So shall we be ever with the Lord. Amen ! 
Halleluiah ! 



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